


Genesis

by Chesterization



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Action/Adventure, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-26
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-08-11 05:16:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 214,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7877974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chesterization/pseuds/Chesterization
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What would happen if the Pokemon in the Mystery Dungeon universe take the same social evolutionary steps as us, humans? And what would happen, if they go a little further than us? The result would be a chaotic place where you can find a gun-toting Kirlia; a sword-wielding Snivy; a cyborg Alakazam; an Emboar duel-wielding flaming machine guns; and lots of horrendous creatures.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. They belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. The songs I reference here belong to their respective artists as well. With that out of the way, please enjoy this piece of fanfiction.

* * *

 

Welcome to Essal, the Pokémon home world. Alternating between large oceans and landmasses covered in flora, this planet was once the perfect place for life to grow and thrive. The Pokémon society here was rich with cultural, architectural, and artistic accomplishments.

However, things changed after they had achieved industrialization. Technology had made life too easy for them and had drained too much from the planet. As a result, nations fought over dwindling resources as the Pokémon population expanded.

50 years ago, at the dawn of the nuclear age, a full-scale war broke out across the planet. Weapons of mass destruction were unleashed, gradually turned Essal into a radioactive wasteland.

Fortunately, the world leaders had taken actions just in time to prevent the planet's extinction. Nations came together and formed a truce. They agreed that all sides would have equal amounts of territory capable of sustaining life. This, however, came with one condition-all nation must remain separate from each other. Any act of war or interference from one nation to another would result in the revival of the global war from before. This managed to keep the planet stable until this very day. Over the years, the truce had proven itself as stable as balancing a lump of ever-burning iron on top of a wooden table.

The separation of the world's nations posed a few problems. Deserted landmasses torn apart by nuclear strikes became a field for dangerous criminals to roam. To these criminals, the land that world shamefully left behind were their own kingdoms. Some criminal even managed to create armies and seek revenge upon their homelands. There was also poverty, sickness, natural disasters that bring suffering to most Pokémon on Essal. A divided world just made these problems the more difficult to deal with. All of these gave birth to new kinds of chaos on Essal; Chaos that almost no one could stop.

 

(The song "Do the evolution" by Pearl Jam begins to play)

 

Chesterization proudly presents.

 

A Pokémon fanfiction

 

**Genesis**

 

(Song ends)

 

**Chapter 1: The beginning of a brighter future**

In a desert located somewhere in the Outland, a lone Kirlia was making her way through the sands. It was at midday; the worst time to be in this kind of environment. The top of the Kirlia's head was five and a half feet above the ground. A few inches of that height were lost from slouching under the unforgiving hammer of the sun. The only thing that protected her from the heavy sunlight above was a long blue trench coat. The attire looked more like an old-fashioned navy bridge coat with the absence of buttons. In their absence were two leather waist belts, decorated with golden buckles. These strips of leather held the sides of the well-worn coat together. The coat wrapped around a somewhat well-built body; a rare trait for a Kirlia.

Dark brown stains of dried blood occupied on the outside of the coat. The reasons for those stains to be there were simple. Whenever a bandit, either got in her way or just wanted to rob her of whatever belonging she had left, she would kill him and loot the body. Whenever a feral got in her way, she would kill it and consume whatever parts of it considered being edible.

Yes, those acts were downright sadistic but she did not have a choice. No one had a choice in the Outland. Besides, why bother keeping her morals when the country where she had lived in, served and protected for over 25 years deemed her to have none?

Her back was mostly clean, very much like her past. A huge white crest dominated a large portion of her coat. It was a symbol of a white wing made out a circle in the middle and feathers covering the left side.

This was the symbol of the Angelic Guard; the organization that had taken away 8 years of her life and her natural Kirlia dress. A crude X slash could be seen on the crest itself, explaining why she was here in the Outland. Her hands bore a darker shade of green compared to her fellow Kirlia, and fully exposed from the long sleeves. Her left arm appeared to have a tattoo on it. It was hard to make out the whole thing as her sleeve had covered it. Her right arm was pressing against her eyebrows, shielding the eyes from the sunlight reflected on the golden ground. On each of her shoulder blades were two oversized revolvers. Both of which had the same size, same kind of wooden stocks. In addition, the barrel length of both rivaled their welder's forearms.

The one on the left was a silver white, double barrels revolver. Its surface showed little signs of oxidization.

The gun on the right was a single barrel gun, jet-black in color. The frame's surface was smooth and clean, almost shining under the sun. Decorative patterns completely covered its cylinder flute and barrel. Each pattern resembled a face screaming in agony and none of which looked the same. The front sight shaped like a scythe with its blade faced upward. That thing was sharp enough to take an eye out effortlessly.

Both guns somehow managed to stick to her shoulder blades without any source of holsters or straps, as if she was able to generate her own magnetism.

Her head was bare, exposed her hair to the punishment from the sun. She still had the Kirlia signature triangle bangs hairstyle. Except hers was a bit shorter and darker in tone. Added to that, her pigtails reached shoulder length. Two locks of hair separated from the bang, shielding the sides of her face. "The horns" were covered from the base up to the middle by two metal plates. These plates were what kept the two locks of hair away from the bang on her forehead. Two ammo belts held each plate on her horns. They could hold at least a dozen revolver bullets. However, at that moment, both of them were empty.

Her body let out a nasty odor of sweat and rusted metal as she walked. The ground below was constantly crawling, scratching at her feet, finding a way to drag her down. Separate her from these gnawing creatures of sand were a pair of metal-tipped leather boots. The footwear held together by various straps and two large golden rings. These boots made her move through the sand like a Snorlax in a shallow lake of tar. Her steps were sluggish and rather pathetic.

 However, the heat and discomfort did not bother her at all. To her, this was just another day. In fact, it was similar to last week’s Friday. Like that day, she only had two things in her mind: “Walk and prepare for danger”.

This was Catherine, a Celestian of the Celestial nation. Yes, as the name suggested, the Celestians considered themselves to be beings belonged in the sky. They isolated themselves by living in a distance region. Every day, they comforted themselves by believing that the outside world was brimming with excessive violent and ignorance. As a result, they conveniently claimed their "simple" way of life to be the right thing to do.

Catherine here was not one of them anymore. It had been that way for over a month. She did not fully know how to react to that. She just accepted it and moved on; like everything else had and would happen in her life.

However, this was what she knew. In this world, exile was worse than execution. Exile means you are thrown into the Outland, alone. There is no guard to escort you, no food, no supply, nothing. You are essentially doomed, as other nations would kill you the moment they spotted you, standing at their borders. Remembering the unwanted land that was mentioned before? The paradise of all criminals. The Outland was a large part, if not all of it.

The areas’ harsh environments, scarce resources, high radiation levels in some area, vicious predators, throw in some dangerous criminals, and you have a place where nothing could grow except violence and insanity. Those "features" should not belong to the place where you want to spend the rest of your life.

Yet somehow, those were the least of Catherine concerns. She could still fight most these threats. That had been her job after all. The only thing she could not fight against was time. And time was eating away her energy, her strength, and her own sanity. Nevertheless, since Catherine had always been the "now" kind of Pokémon, she did not think of the devastating effect of time itself. Instead, she got through days by days by making and answering questions such as: _“What was she going to eat now?";" Where should she go now?"; "Left or right?"_ She had already answered one for the day. She was going to the mountains in the distance.

She was dragging her feet a few more meters then suddenly stopped. She saw something lying on the blurred line between the yellow ground and the massive mountains. _“A wreckage? There must be something useful there.”_ She thought then printed toward the heap of metal using her last bit of stamina. The closer she got, the clearer the wreckage appeared to be. At first, it was just a pile of white colored junk, but soon she began to make out wings, propeller, and tail. It was a plane crashed on the ground. Catherine had not seen one in real life before.

Despite spending most time of her life in what many would consider the dark ages, she could still recognize certain objects from the outside world, and this plane was included. Smugglers attempting to infiltrate her country from time to time provided this knowledge. Those she was supposed to eliminate for their deeds. If you made a wild guess of this being the cause of her exile, then you were wrong. She had always been careful when it comes to dealing with the outside knowledge and its sources.

After twenty minutes of running constantly, she reached the wreckage. She breathed hastily, let out short bursts of bone-dry air from her mouth. The lack of oxygen going through her brain made the landscape around her spun in a frenzy. Catherine quickly leaned on the wing for support. The temperature on the surface made the Kirlia immediately regretted that decision. Backed away from the burning pieces of metal, she then had a good look at the wreckage. The plane had snapped into several pieces. Each piece lied on the sand in a crooked line. The main body with the cockpit and a part of the left wing was where the trail of wreckage began or rather end depend on your perspective. Wind and sand had taken away the numbers, markings, and colors on the plane. This gave the wreckage the look of a remaining skeleton of a mechanical creature.

She worked her way around the wreckage, looking for anything useful. Her feet made a crunching sound while stepping on the debris scattered on the sand. She kept looking at the ground, kept expecting to see a remaining body of an unfortunate Pokémon. The wind passing through the gaps of the wreckage produced an unsettling howl. Her mind was playing tricks on her. She kept thinking of danger lurking in the wreckage every time she heard that sound.

After making it to the main part of the plane, she poked her head inside what left of the cockpit. The inside was a mess. The windshield was partially destroyed while the electronics, floor, furniture and control consoles were covered in a thick layer of yellow dust. “No bodies, the fucker must have survived the crash and took off. Hope he left behind something for me.” She said then searched the place under the radio and under the seats. Nothing was there. Whoever made it out alive had taken everything, but a pair of sunglasses on the cracked floor.

“Damn it!” Catherine cursed under her breath and hit the cushion in frustration. Her blow rattled the dust on the seat. A few specs jumped on her face, making her day a little worse.

Catherine wiped away the dust grime. She breathed slowly, gaining control over her heart. She would not want this minor setback to get to her, not when there was still so much to do. As a mean to make her feel better for running a quarter of a mile in record time for nothing, she took the glasses off the floor and called it her trophy. She lifted the pair of glasses up and blew gently on them. The dust was willing to leave but the sand trapped on the lenses required some effort from Catherine. She cleaned the thing by rubbing it on the blood-freed part of her coat. The glasses revealed its clarity along with a small crack on the right lens. It was nothing major as the glasses themselves were mostly intact.

She quickly put it on, jerked her head to face the rear view mirror. To Catherine, that was the only use for the damned mirror. _“What else would the pilot see with that thing besides himself?”_ She then had a good look at her face. A slightly deflated white ball covered in grease and messy green straws on top along with a pair of cheap black glasses appeared in the tilted mirror. “Well, look like shit but at least I don't have to smell the blood anymore.” She grinned at the reflection of herself once again and headed back outside.

Unexpectedly, a feral Mightyena was standing a few feet away from the cockpit greeted her. The beast was glaring its teeth at her and let out a growl. Its appearance startled her slightly. _“Strange, Mightyena are night hunters. They usually did not come out at this time of the day.”_ She asked herself. Was this thing her hallucination? Was she being paranoid? No, she remembered hearing rumors of radiation in the Outland that could make a Pachirisu grow wings and fly. That meant disrupting a feral sleep cycle should be in the realm of possibility. _“An insomnia Mightyena, huh? It should be easy to take out. This thing is obviously slow or weak. Fucker is more interested in standing still and acts menacing than actual be menacing and attacking.”_ She thought and slowly reached back for her right revolver. “Hehe, you should have slept pal.” She whispered while showing the feral some of her teeth packaged in a grin. The gun was in her grab. “Now, I’m gonna give you a fucking dirt...” The Mightyena fleeing the scene interrupted her speech and action. “Heh, radiation appeared to have shrunk your balls as well. Yeah, better run motherfucker, for I am the most ruthless Archangel of all the Angelic guards!” She let out an awkward laugh at the statement regarding the little title everyone at home had given her. It brought back some memories of her homeland. There were the night and day training sections with her comrades. The time she lost the dress in a knife fight with an invader and how everyone praised her for be able to endure injury and got payback at the said invader. As more memories were pouring in, a voice blocked the flow. _“You must forget. There is no reason to remember. It is all over now. They are nothing to you now as you are nothing to them. Memory can only hurt you.”_

A Mightyena howl echoed in the mountains snapped her back. It was a rather long howl, sounded more like a two minutes sigh. 'What the fuck is he doing?' Catherine wondered while looking at the mountain in confusion. Her answer soon came in the form of multiple returning howls from the desert. “Awww, shit!” Catherine then hastily ran away from the cockpit. If that was an actual pack then Catherine was in trouble. Normally one or two would be easy but taking on a dozen in this state of exhaustion was never a good idea. She backtracked through the debris, passed the wings. The sound of light and quick footsteps was behind her.

(The song "Entrance" by ICE started to play)

She turned around and witnessed rows of teeth coming toward her face. She did not have any time to react. She could only use her left arm to intercept it. She screamed at the top of her lung when those teeth sank into her arm. The pain shot through her brain like an electric shock wave, distorted her vision in the process. It was the same Mightyena and it looked like it did not want her to leave without playing for a little.

The beast used its strength, weight, and momentum to bring her to the ground. Catherine had a stable stance so it could only bring her to her knees. However, that did stop the Mightyena from shaking its head violently while biting down on her flesh. The razor-like teeth inside its jaws moved side to side in accord with Mightyena shaking. This was pumping pain signals after pain signals through her system in every move. She retaliated by shoving the barrel of her right gun to its left eye. A dirty "squish" sound was made when the barrel trying to squeeze the Mightyena dirty yellow eye inside it. The barrel dug deeper, making the Mightyena immediately lost some pressure on Catherine's arm, but then it bit back twice as hard. Catherine was biting her teeth in pain as well. The black metal scythe prevented the gun from going all the way through the Mightyena's eye socket. Catherine clenched her teeth and gave the gun in her hand a tighter grip. She then turned the gun slowly but forcefully, crushing what left of the eye into mush. The miniature scythes now facing the Mightyena's mouth. 'Let go of me you son of a bitch!' She screamed. The Mightyena shook even more forcefully as if trying to pull her arm out. She then tilted the gun. The barrel got out of the eye socket, leaving a black, yellow and red concoction behind. The scythe now began to dig into the Mightyena snout, before she changed her grip on the gun. She now used her entire fist to grab the now-upside-down wooden stock. “Well, fuck you then.” She remarked then dragged her gun like that across it snout like a deliveryman opening a box sealed with duct tape. The blade pierced all the way to the bone. It was creating a nasty screech when the metal tip scratched the Mightyena's bone. Blood spilled out as the blade moved through the meat. The gun moved all the way to its nose. The Mightyena bit down harder than ever during the first inches but slowly let go when she passed half way through its snout. Catherine almost twisted her wrist the moment she slashed all the way through the nose, setting the gun free from the Mightyena face. Foul liquid flew from the destroyed nose and got on Catherine's coat. The Mightyena finally released all of the pressure on her arm and opened its jaws to scream a painful "Mightyenaaaaaa" cry. She lifted her arm from it lower jaw. Blood and saliva soaked through her sleeve, drenched it as if she had just stayed in a heavy rain for too long. Her adrenalin was kicking in, effectively numbing the pain and giving some extra boost in strength. The Mightyena backed from the injury, allowing her to stand up once again. Catherine then made a fist with her left arm in rage, squeezing out blood as the palms tightened. She then reached back and dropped down delivering a devastating blow to the feral Pokémon. She then started hammering the wounds in the Mightyena's face. The Pokémon let out squeals of pain in each consecutive each hit. The sound was then gradually growing weaker until the only noise was the sound her knuckle smashing the skull. She stopped when her arm began to sting. The effect of adrenalin was wearing off fast.

She quickly retrieved her blood-coated fast and frantically got up. She had wasted too much time with this Mightyena, the rest were coming. She could feel their present getting closer. The footsteps on the sand were rapid and the repeated barking was clear. She turned around, witnessing a pack of twenty or so Mightyena was treating on the sand where she once was. It was too late for her to run. She had no choice but to fight.

She used her left arm to reach back and get her remaining gun. She squeezed a tear off her eye during the process, creating a crooked smile across her face. When the white revolver was finally in her hand, she took aim at the mob of Mightyena coming in the distance. The guns and her targets were now in her sight. A dark purple aura escaped her sleeves and gradually engulfed her guns. The cloud of aura concentrated and then crawled in the cylinders. The cylinders span automatically. Then they settled with a loud click. Adjusted the sunglasses with her right gun, she took a deep breath then yelled at the top of her lungs, “This is your last warning, fuck off!”

Unchanged by Catherine's word, the Mightyena pack was still moving forward. Catherine squeezed the trigger and let the creature inside her guns free with a bang. The objects launched out from the barrels of her guns resembled miniature torpedoes spinning at high speed. Every time she pulled both triggers, three of them got out and charged toward the pack of feral Pokémon. These were her Psychic Bullets, an attack that she had created over the years. This move gave her ability to constantly firing at long as her psychic powers hold. In the country where machines to make bullets did not exist, this technique was a necessary.

The Psychic Bullets took about half a second to travel and hit a few Mightyena. The impacts of the hits made those Mightyena let out a few grunts in pain. However, Catherine was expecting cried of agony instead. The Mightyena did slow down one bit, but they shook off the pain as if it was nothing and continued their quest to tear Catherine apart. What those shots had ever done was just making the Mightyena more agitated. “Well, worth a shot.” She said, rather disappointed. “I guess this is the end, Anima, Lady Death.” She said while looking at her guns with a smile. She put her left revolver back to where it was and let her left arm hang loose like a string of meat, allowing the blood to fall on the ground. The Mightyena were getting closer now. Given them, thirty seconds or more and their teeth would sink into Catherine's neck.

Catherine then did something no one would do at that moment; she saved the Mightyena time by madly charged toward them. Now, she was the one getting closer to them. Her footsteps bombarded the ground under her. Sands under her feet flew upward. She yelled a battle cry as she closing in. The left arm was still hanging loosely like a long and thick piece of blue ribbon that got soaked in red dye.

She raised her right gun and shot it rapidly while running. Her shots began to have some actual kicks this time. The bullet tore their skins and flesh away in an instant. The gun let out a click. Catherine quickly put some brain signal back to her left arm, regaining control of it. The arm sprang back into action and got another fist on standby. A stream of dark purple aura ran out from her hand again and raced to the cylinder, refilling the Psychic Bullets. She leaped forward. The remaining Mightyena in the lead row opened its mouth, waited to Crunch her when she dropped down. Suddenly she vanished, instantly made the Mightyena bit nothing but air. Just as sudden as her disappearance, she reappeared a few meter forward into the pack, right on top of another Mightyena. Gravity pulled her down, causing her metal tipped boots along with most of her body weight to crush the said Mightyena's back.

Everything happened too fast for everyone. Catherine can only hear the sound of crushing bone and a weak cry from her victim. The Mightyena in front had only registered Catherine's disappearance while the rest behind the injured Mightyena wondered how the Kirlia got there in the first place. A Mightyena prang up out of instinct. Catherine then disappeared again but this time reappeared on the jumping Mightyena's neck. She used it as a stepping-stone to advance deeper into the heart of the pack. A Mightyena caught up with her action and pounced in anticipation. Catherine denied its perfect prediction with the back of her left hand. This smacked it in the face and threw it on top of another Mightyena. She uttered a frustration groan after the successful retaliation. That move seems to have done more damage to her than to the other Pokémon itself.

She performed a series teleported frog leaps from one to another. Any Mightyena that jumped at her would get a bullet to the face. She continued this until she reached the Mightyena in the middle. She then executed it at point blank range. The result was not pretty. The bullet exploded the moment it touched the feral Pokémon head, getting rid of the thin layer of skin on the forehead and cracked the skull rather effortlessly. Its head looked like an opened window, revealed a twitching brain from the inside. After that, Mightyena pack realized her tricks and began to swarm in. The front row had stopped and turned back while those in the back of the pack fanned out. They switched from attacking her one on one to surrounding her instead. She teleported upward while the circle of feral Pokémon was being made.

She vanished then appeared elevated from the ground. She continued this burst teleportation cycles until she was hundreds of feet up in the air. The Mightyena down at the ground were still looking up. They showed their teeth in anticipation, expecting their bag of meat, blood, and bone to fall down any second. This time, they no longer went after the meal her flesh could provide. They had stepped in too deep. They had lost so many lives because of her and that made them just want to knot on her bones for revenge. Seeing her doing nothing but fly upward, they thought they won. They thought that whatever she was doing was just a desperate attempt to escape. They were wrong.

Catherine stopped elevating herself upward and grabbed her left hand into a claw-liked grip. A white ball of energy began to form inside her palm. “Bite this!” She said in a low pitch tone. The ball began to grow into a large spinning orange orb. As she channeled her attack, the energy from her body ran through her injured arm, making blood spurt out like pumping water through a hose with a thousand holes. The energy orb had reached the size of a basketball when Catherine had just 50 feet left above ground. The air was blowing the lower part of her coat upward, showing a cargo jean short and a shirt made of bloody bandages underneath. The orb was now humming a concerning tune.

The Mightyena from below realized what was going to happen to them and fled in terror. However, it was too late for them. When the humming turned to the highest pitch and the energy orb had reached it critical state, she exclaimed, “Focus...” The air around the orb was beginning to pick up and forming gale around it. The moving air mixed up with the blood particles in her sleeve creating a red mist rotating around a bright orange ball in its center. “SLAM!” She cried out before throwing the ball to the ground. The orb drilled through the air, launched itself downward at high speed. It hit the ground in a millisecond, exploded violently. From the point of impact, a massive orange shock wave appeared, and it was spreading in all direction. It blew back up into the air, knocking Catherine's locks of hair backward. At the same time, soften her fall. The sands did reduce the force of the shock wave dramatically, but the blast was still powerful enough to crush and bury all the Mightyena. A pillar of smoke and dust was lifted up from the ground and gently caught Catherine as she descended.

(Song ended)

Catherine landed in the center of the creator with a loud thud and cracking noise in a second later. Something inside her must have broken. She could feel it in her guts (literally). She wished to scream but her throat was sore and had run dry. The shock wave appeared to have damaged her as well. Scratches and bruises made room on her face. Her coat was torn here and there. She shook her head and wiped the sweat and blood off her face with her right sleeve. Checked on her left arm, she felt a sense of relieve when seeing the arm still attached to her body. She tried to move it. Only its fingers managed to move upward. She could still feel the wind run through the spaces between her fingers as she did so. The adrenaline was all gone. All the pain caused by both the Mightyena at the wreckage and the Focus Slam were now pummeling on her arm. The swelling flesh clenched on her blood vessels. She decided to ignore it by letting her teeth biting down on her lip. It did not seem to help much, but that was all she could do.

She looked at the sand cocoons wrapping the Mightyena inside. Few of which were still moving ever so slightly. Cocked the hammer of her right gun without hesitation, Catherine finished off all the Mightyena in a continuous stream of bullets. The cocoons were penetrated, exposing flesh and various liquids from the inside. The scene looked like a bunch of firecrackers lit up and tossed casually on the ground. You would need to replace the remained wrapper with chunks of meat and blood of course. The sounds were spot on too. However, it bore more resemblances to a piece of firework that accidentally blew up in someone closed palm. Everything, from the scene and sound, made Catherine smile in delight.

Seeing nothing could attacker her anymore, at least for the time being, she took a breathing while her teeth were still showing. It was painful for her for doing so. One of her ribs must have broken when she landed and now jabbed a hole into her lung. The lack of moisture certainly did not help either. She felt like each breath was stuffing hot rusted nails into her nose. A steady red stream ran out of her left sleeve. She felt weak and strangely enough, cold in all this desert heat. Her legs struggled to keep her on them. Her vision became blurry. She just wanted to give up and lay down right there. However, she did not. Some part of her knew something. It was a voice. It sounded tempting and encouraging. It wanted her to keep on going, proving the world that the Outland could not stop her. It was convincing her that she still had a purpose and she had to stay alive no matter what. As her mind began to slip away, the rest of her body decided to follow its commands. She was now limping away from the corpses like a zombie who had just finished its meal.

She had to get out of there as fast as possible. That smell of fresh blood would attract every brute (not limited to feral) in the area. At least the feral would use her body in a way with more dignity, such as eating it up. That would still be much more pleasant than what the twisted residents of the Outland had in store. The rest of her could be used as a model to put into the stuffed body museum of some demented psychopath. Someone would put her head in a jar and made some fine wine out of it. In addition to all the things that Catherine could not imagine, or she just didn't want to.

Oh, the Outland and it diversity of dying scenarios. Here, you could die from exhaustion, being killed by maniacs or die slowly and survive long enough to see the Pokémon you once were mutated into a monster. A monster that you were trying to run away from in the first place. Right now, Catherine would rather be a monster rather than be eaten by one.

 

A few feet later, her pain receptors were abruptly overloaded. She dropped her arms and knees. Her left arm and chest had suffered the pain for too long. She could feel her arm being tossed into an inferno. It was burning and at the same time itching beyond hell for her. The idea of slicing away her arm seems like the best thing in the world at that moment. Her arm would be useless either way when the bacteria inside the Mightyena's saliva eating away her flesh. Too bad the scythe on her gun was too small for cutting, plus she was already struggling to move with her right arm and knees. She was crawling her way out like a three-legged Ponyta as her left arm had given up on her. Her sweat and blood were dripping on the ground. She tossed her revolver to the side, fully utilizing what strength she had left into moving. The voice from before could not help her now, she had reached her limit and could not hold on anymore. She just collapsed.

Her face planted in the sand. She then instantly raised her head back to gasp for air. That moment, all the color in the world around her had disappeared. She could only see things in black and white. The reduction of color had given her a better view of the things in the distance. A large vehicle of some kind was coming to her location. It was just above the sand horizon. She used her last bit of strength to make a turn and reached back for her remained gun. “I...refuse, to be...your, chew toy, bandits...”she whispered, failed to get the weapon and once again, her face touched the sand.

As she began to lose consciousness, she heard footsteps and a male voice. “Agent 192 to base. We found a candidate. She is in need of medical attention.” Catherine heard those last words before blacking out.

After Arceus knew how long, Catherine woke up lying down in a dark tight space. It was freezing inside. She frantically felt the environment around her with her hand. It was cold and slippery. She immediately attempted to find a way out. She did it with the best way she knew how: punching. However, that was no use. It just made a lot of thumping sound that echoed in wherever she was. Her punches did break one thing though-ice. A small chunk of it fell on her face. She then shook it off and launched into panic mode. She was in a freezer, it must had been. _“Why,”_ she thought. The only reason she could think of was someone had picked her up from the desert and now that someone had plans for her organs. Organs were valuable in the outside world, or so she heard. If that were the case then she had to get out fast. She put all the strength she had into her punches while yelling for help. The inside was so small that it was impossible to get a full force punch. In addition, it was so small that she could even hear her heartbeats and helpless cries echoed between punches. It gave her the feeling of hundred others like her were trapped and waited to be released. That sound of the thumping drove her crazy. She was kicking and screaming this time. To her frustration, the result was still the same. The cold started to get to her. She felt sleepy and her arms grew tired. She must do something fast before blacking out again and freeze to death.

Suddenly, everything inside lit up. A surge of blue light blinded her. It took actually effort to recover from that light assault and open her eyes afterward. In front of her was now a curved wall put together by gadgetry that she had never seen in her life. _“What the hell was that?”_ She thought. It was getting warmer inside, a possible effect provided by the light. The light and warmth help her reclaimed some sanity. She began to relax and breathed. She then searched for a latch or a switch and such to set herself free. When her sanity returned to its fullest, a robotic female voice spoke up: “Please remain calm.”

“Who are you? What do you want with me?” She asked, but no one answer. She did not realize that the weird dialect meant the voice she just heard, was just an emotionless computer. She kept on repeating the same questions until her throat gone dry. “I would be much calmer if you tell me whoever the fuck you are.” This was her final sentence before the hatch slowly opened a few minutes later.

A brighter white light poured inside. A thought of dying and went to heaven did spark up in her mind but that soon died down when Catherine realized it was just a lamp mounted on the roof. Catherine instantly climbed her way out when the hatch fully opened. She ended up landing face first on the floor afterward. The fall did not damage anything besides her pride, fortunately.

It took her some time to get up and adjusted to the light. She felt strangely refreshed. Like one of time when she was relieved of duty on Monday. Almost as if the previous accident had killed her and the strange device she was in just put her brain inside a new body. _“Almost refreshed”,_ she told herself as she could still feel the numbness in her fingers.

She had a look around. She appeared to have fallen from a large metallic pod. The thing she was in was quite large from the outside. It should have been able to hold at least two of her if not for those machinery cramped inside. Its shell had various monitors with numbers that were too complicated for her to understand and care. The room she was in had gray metallic and was filled with those "pods”, each identical to hers and all were empty. “Where the hell, am I?” She asked while turning around. There was a large monitor on the wall behind her. It was just showing a purple screen and a white circle in the middle with three black vertical lines inside. She shifted her vision from the screen to the corner of the room.

A locker made of glass in there caught her attention. The thing had her coat changed inside. She quickly looked down wondering what she was wearing. Her cargo jean short was still there. She also noticed a leg bracelet below her knee. It had a small green light that was constantly blinking. She reached down and did her best to pull it. The thing refused to loosen up. Gave up on it, she stood up and walk to the locker. See what else had changed. She stood in front of the glass locker to have a full look at herself. She was wearing a purple tank top. She felt thankful that the thing was not too revealing or anything. That was if she had anything to be revealed in the first place. What it revealed were the scars and tattoos on her left arm.

The tattoo looked like a maze made of straight lines drawn on her arm. Some of the lines were yellow which stuck out like a sore thumb on her green skin. The rest were just black. The maze ran all the way from her shoulder to the back of her hand. Scars were lying on top of the tattoo. There were diagonal slash marks, stab wounds, even a few holes could be seen here and three. Strangely enough, the Mightyena teeth marks were missing. After that kind of bite force, she would expect some kind of souvenir, but nothing.

The tank top had a logo in the middle, the same logo as the one on the screen. She scratched her head, wondered if she had seen it before. Again, nothing turned up. She reached for her horns and noticed the protective plates with the leather ammo belts were still present. Her boots were still there as well. The metal tips were shiny and not filled with rust like usual. She looked up and opened the locker. At first, she did not believe it was her coat. The thing inside was too “clean" and her weapons were nowhere to be found. She then picked it up the coat to have a closer look. There was no doubt about it. The crest and X mark were there. Even her newly acquired sunglasses were inside its pocket as well. It no longer carried those bloodstains or any kind of dirt for that matter. It was as clean as the day it was given to her. The waist straps were replaced with strange metallic pieces. Catherine just shrugged her shoulder and put the coat on. It still fitted like a glove. She fumbled around with the added pieces quite a bit, but the thing was not rocket science so it did not take her too long. “Don't know who or what keeping me, but they sure have a kick ass laundry service.” She remarked as she dusted off the coat.

She walked to the "door" in the room. The thing looked more like a rectangle bulge on the wall from her end. The only thing on it was an orange hologram with a lock symbol. She touched it, distorted the hologram and nothing happened. She punched, pushed and pulled but the door refused to move. She let out a frustrating sigh then decided to use her Focus Blast. She stepped back, took aim at her metallic adversary. Before she could form the attack, the hologram turned green and the lock symbol vanished. The door made a weird sound and began to open. She quickly teleported behind a pod, stayed out of sight.

A voice soon followed the thud of the closing door, a calm, gentle and familiar male voice:

“There's no need to hide, just come out and we'll talk.”

Catherine stepped out of her cover, with her hand formed into the claw grip. Catherine knew that voice. That was the one she heard before passing out. She widened her eyes in surprise at first but soon changed it into a glare. The figure standing at the door was a large Snivy. He was about the same height as her. He was not a regular three feet tall Snivy that was stretched thin into that height, mind you. He still has the appearance of a typical Snivy, just a lot bigger. His eyes were so clear and blue that they looked unnatural. The leaf on his tail was a little odd. Regular Snivy tail had three parts leaf at the end, each part had the same size and shape as the other. His was sharp like an ax. The two parts on the side were slim and pointy. They stuck close to the middle part, making it look like a one part leaf. He was wearing a long-sleeved black leather jacket and of course, no pants like all Snivy. Most of the spaces in front of the jacket were taken up by the same logo as the one on Catherine's tank top and the screen. However, this time, the logo was inside a light purple hexagon. His legs were wearing metallic shoes with a sleek design, covering from his feet to his non-existing knee. The right side of the jacket holstered a metal tube with various dials on it. The device seemed to fit the Snivy's hands perfectly.

He kept a straight face and a steady gaze on her. Then blinked, let out a faint smile and said: “Relax, there’s no need to be hysterical. Yes, it sounds like asking a Dunsparce not to scream inside a lava pool but please bear with me. It may be odd but I am not here to cause you any harm. Please don't do anything stupid.”

Catherine laughed, sarcastically: “Really?” Catherine said.

The smile on the Snivy's face disappeared. He was now pondering.

“Hmm, I'm sorry but I going to need some context to work with that line. I don't know if you are trying to intimidate me, questioning me or simply trying to use it as a punchline. If so, you are failing because I'm laughing or scared.” The pitch of his voice was a bit higher and somewhat bitter from this statement forward.

“What the fuck is that suppose got to do with...argh... FINE! Let see if you wanna get technical after choking on one of these.” She said before tightened her hand, making a crackling noise and opened it up. He did not even flinch at that. An orange wind began swirling in her palm. It was just rotating around and did not focus into an orb, like before.

“Well, aren’t you going to choke me on something? Come on, if it made you happy and cooperate then do it. I’d love to see you try.”

_‘Something's wrong. I cannot feel my attack. What did these fuckers do to me?’_ She thought, desperately trying not to panic. At least, she tried not to show it to the Snivy.

“Don't panic. It is only temporary. What sticking on your leg is a device designed to block neuron transmission. By blocking those, we could stop you from performing certain actions. It does not prevent all of your body movements.” He shrugged. “just those that controls attacks that require significant amount strength and power channeling. Putting it as a portable "Disable" move attached to a tracking device.” His statement made her looked down at her feet instantly. The device attached to her leg was flashing a red light.

“You slimy little prick!” She spat at him.

“If you agree to speak like civilized beings then we can work things out. Do any physical harm to me and the operator makes the device stop all neuron transmission and turning you into a paraplegic Slowpoke.”

Clenched her fist and let out a sigh of defeat”...Okay, I will play your game. What the fuck do you want?”

“We just want to talk.” The Snivy looked to his upper left corner, “more like an interview with you”.

“Interview? What the fuck are you talking about?”

“We saw the little display in the desert. It was quite impressive. Someone with strength like that is perfect for our team.”

Her eyes wandered around, “How did you know that? Did you follow me or something? And what team?”

“No, we heard your screaming in the desert and decided to check things out. You should find a way to turn down the volume of your yelling. It took us well over three minutes to get to your location. As for the team. Well, have you heard of the Genesis Corporation?”

Catherine crossed her arms. “No. Why should I?”

“Well, because we want to recruit you to be a part of us. We are the Foundation-the security team of Genesis Corporation. See the connection?”

“Okay, and Genesis is?”

“Genesis is a multi-billion corporation that invested in technologies of all kind, ranging from medical equipment to space crafts. Since Genesis operates and stations in most parts of the Outland, it needs special kind of protection. Protection that no government willing to give.”

“Shit, now I'm lost.”

He tilted his head slightly and closed his eyes. “Wowwww, it must have been a lot for you to take in, hasn’t it.”

Catherine frown at the remark, “Hey! And fuck, I don't know. Yeah, that sounds fucking crazy to me. To a Celestian that shit is outrageous. And wait, if you wanted to invite me why the fuck is this thing doing on my leg?”

“Company’s policy, can't change that. I have one too. All of us have Foundation agents have. You can't blame our boss for being too careful.” He gave her a sly look. “You did threaten to choke me a few seconds ago.”

“Stop with the bullshit!” She slammed her foot down.

“Sure, so what do you want me to give you? Just shut up. We wouldn't want you to accept us without any information.”

“No need. Just let me go. Because I’m not accepting anything.”

“That depend on you after the interview.”

“What in the fuck?” She paused for a moment, “wait this is not it?”

“No, the interviewer is Anna, Genesis’s executive. She is the one calling the shots around here, this base anyway. She will go into details of things, later.”

Catherine now scratched the back of her head in confusion. “But...fuck, all these motherfucking crap is just...confusing”

He sighed and shifted to a patronizing tone. “I hate repeating myself. Well, I guess I have to put things bluntly. We...Are a group of mercenaries. We do anything violent related. Reclaim part of the Outland, protect Genesis's facility from bandits and contain the threat concerning the company. You know the Outland. It has them all: Robbers, thieves, lunatics, dangerous wildlife and terrorists. So naturally, anyone who could fight against those is on our list. See the reasons. The interview is we, asking you to join us, in the fight against those threats. Got it?”

“And why do you think I'm NOT one of them. Bandits kill other bandits all the time. I might be one. A dangerous one even. What made you think I would join this team of door guarders of yours. Who the fuck do you think you are? You just woke me up and said, “Hey! Join our team of killers." And who the fuck is the boss? Last time I checked, I am nobody bitch!”

His tone changed, it became softer and changed back to the gentle, calming tone from before “You didn't look like a bandit when I found you.” Catherine changed her look at him as well. “You look like someone who was badly injured and about to die. I saw Pokémon like that all the time. But sadly, I couldn't help any of them. For the company wouldn't let me. The chances of survival are too low and the suffering in the future is always guaranteed. Better to leave them that way. You, I can, because I have an excuse. An excuse that you were a capable fighter that took out 15 Mightyena alone with an injured arm. That was the excuse for me to pluck you out of the situation and saved your life. Who do you think fixed you up? They saved you because I made you look like a worthwhile investment. I am the reason you are still alive. That who I am.”

Look down at her now healed arm. Catherine did not know what to say after that. She switched her view to the Snivy and said. “Thank you for extending my life. But I don't think I will stay. Or am I bounded to you guys? Am I force to join you? Is the interview just a cover?”

“No, you are an investment and investments sometimes do go bad. We are not slave traders. We don't force Pokémon against their will. Joining us is a choice. And you have all the right to say no. No one would blame you. To be honest, I don't think you should join. Working here would be too much for a Celestian like you. No offense. The only reason why I'm here talking like a jackass is because you woke up two months early; too soon for the executives to escort and give you a proper greeting.”

“What about you? You pretty much tricked them to do patch me up for free.”

“Nothing, I made a reasonable suggestion, so nothing will happen to me. Excuse me for the rude behaviors from earlier. Company policies, they want me to lure you in. Unfortunately, I’m not good at that kind of activity as you can see. Oh, and thank you for asking.”

Catherine glared at him. “Don't take it the wrong way. I'm not your buddy or anything. I'm getting the fuck out of here like you suggested.”

“Never seen anyone so eager to going back to the Outland.”

“Pff, Okay, take me to Anna or whatever.”

“Sure, come now, time is valuable at Genesis.” He urged her by waving his hand in his direction.

“You have time to fuck around with me with your bullshit, valuable indeed,” Catherine said before obliged the Snivy previous request.

“I hate those words as much as you are. Just let them go into forgotten.” He said while turning his back.

Only when he turned around did she saw the disable device he was mentioning before. It was attached to the base of his tail. It was identical to her, with a longer strap. She let out an immature snicker when this detail was made aware of her. Both went to the door. It opened up when they stand approximate to it, revealing a corridor. Catherine steps were quicker and lighter this time. She was somewhat relieved from hearing his words. There was a possibility that everything he said was false but she took whatever she can. Sometimes a little trust in a world full of madness is healthy. With that mindset, Catherine followed the Snivy every step.

They went through corridors after corridors. The repeated gray and metallic walls, doors and floor, streams of bright white light on the ceiling in each corridor made Catherine ask the question of _“How on Essal could these guys navigate through the place?”_ She guessed that had to do that by looking at various symbols and numbers painted on the wall. Even with that, it was still extremely confusing to her. The only thing she managed to make out so far was that the numbers were getting smaller, meaning that they are coming closer to something. She counted these in her head to counter the near dead silent in there. It was too quiet. Catherine had not seen another soul after a minute of walking. She expected a place filled with mercenaries to be loud and bombastic, not quiet and dull like a Sheller retirement center. Bored with the counting she tried something else to fight the silent. She put more force in her steps. Catherine's metallic soles slammed against the floor making loud "Clang”, echoing through the place. She was also hoping that the loud noises would attract someone who might be trapped in those rooms. If she were lucky, they would scream: _“Get out, everything they say is a lie. Run!”_ But the only response she could hear were just her footsteps went back at her.

The Snivy was not affected by her in any way and continued walking. The Snivy's shoes, on the other hand, did not stir the slightest noise despite being made of pure metal. This struck Catherine as odd. She wished to ask him, but the idea of small talk with him seems unnecessary. She would leave and would not seeing him anymore. After a long walk, they reached a large door with a keyboard to the left. The number on the wall stopped at 13. The number was next to an advertisement panel. The Snivy quickly pressed a few buttons on the keyboard. He glanced over his shoulder once every while, probably making sure that Catherine saw none of the codes. Catherine however, was too occupied with a panel on the wall to notice.

The panel was a simple picture of a Lucario in bulletproof body armor holding an assault rifle. He was standing in a desert, a moment before dawn. The Lucario seemed to be looking rather dramatically at the rising sun. Above his head was the text: "Fighting for Genesis, fighting for tomorrow." In the bottom right corner, where the purple hexagon symbol and the white circle. Catherine from that point forward just assumed it was the Foundation's logo. In the bottom left corner, was an upside down triangle with the letter G cramped in it. Below it was a tiny text: "The beginning of a brighter future." After reading that, Catherine rolled her eyes and thought: _“Man, these fuckers sure have a fetish for the future.”_ A beep and the sound of an opening door were heard.

"Come. It will be over soon." The Snivy signaled her.

They had entered a new room. The first thing Catherine noticed about this one was the noise. This place was the exact opposite of her last ten minutes. It has a cocktail of technical jumbo, chatter, and rambling mixed with the sound of running machinery. Although they were just white noise to her, that was so much more tolerable than absolute silent. The room has dozens of other Pokémon. All of them were Kadabra for some reason. They all looked the same, same height, the same body built and everything. Each was wearing a long, white lab coat with the logo (same as the one on the Snivy's jacket and everything else in this base) imprinted on the left side of the chest. Catherine took it as the Foundation symbol. All of the Kadabra had their left arms exposed with series of numbers tattooed on the forearm. The numbers were the only way for anyone to tell them apart. There was one with "013894957" another one with "000012846", others with"005394753","000973462" and so on. In their hands were crystal-like tablets. They looked at these with great concentration while their finger constantly moving up and down. In addition to the standing Kadabra stones, the room also boarded tons of machines. They were two ginormous generators in the corners opposite to where Catherine was standing. These two with their pistons were the main source of the noise within this room. There was also a large monitor taking up the top half of the wall to Catherine's left. Below was a keyboard with endless rows of buttons and switches. Two Kadabra were operating this oversized computer. To the other side of the monitor were charts written on large panels made from the same kind of crystal as the ones in the Kadabra hands. There was also a doorway in between those transparent charts.

The number"000383055" belonged to the Kadabra stood closest to the door. Detected the present of the two new Pokemon inside the room, he shifted his attention toward them. Put down the device, he then asked the Snivy: “Is that the new recruit, Axel?” He asked that with a fast pace, monotonous voice, clearly addressing the Snivy.

“Not yet.” Was the Snivy respond.

“Oh, of course. My mistake. Engineer not a receptionist.” To that, Axel just gave him his hand and waved once. “Good luck!” The Kadabra said while examined Catherine from afar, who was busy looking that the gadgetry in the room with great the brief conversation, he resumed to his position and continued tracing his finger across the strange device.

“They are the engineers. They keep the place running. Aren't exactly friendly but tolerable. The grunts on the other hands...Well, just don't bump into any Bisharp around here and you should be fine. Hey, are you listening to me?” Axel asked while trying to get in front of her.

Catherine shook her head “Yeah, just don't bother stopping and giving me pointers. Show me the way and get this over with. I say no, get kicked out. Simple.”

“Don't you want to check on the decoration for a while? Not everyone in the world has the chance to visit the Foundation Delta base.”

Catherine gave him the palm of her hand. “No pointers, please.”

“Fair enough.” Axel made a quick left turn to the remaining door in the room. It opened, introduced them to a new corridor with two hulking figures standing in a short distance. As they were approaching the middle section of the corridor, the figures became two heavily armed Bisharp. Both of the Bisharp were abnormally huge. They were covered from head to toe with battle armor, both natural and artificial. The extra pieces of metal also had a red and black color scheme along with the Foundation logo stamped on the left shoulder pad. The extra armor padding protected the exposed areas between their blade rib cages, their legs, and biceps. The pieces in the leg appeared to have boosted them up. They effectively made them appear larger. Two large assaults were in their hands, each with a huge jagged bayonet attracted. The sight of Catherine and Axel made them cocked their weapons. The grunts moved in and block Axel's path. Catherine flinched at their sudden movement.

“Identify yourself.” The one on the left said with a deep voice while the other aimed his gun at Catherine.

“Foundation agent number 192. The one behind me is an interviewee.” Axel gave him the answer.

_“Interviewee”_ , again why Catherine had a hard time wrapping her mind around that word? Everything seemed to be all over the place and nothing was adding up. She tried to string things together. At first, she was exiled; wandering the Outland for quite some time; killed anything along the way; almost got killed; in a coma for a period of time; then, she woke up in god knows where for an interview. An interview for a corporation that she had never heard of. And not just any corporation for that matter a multi-billion one that was. If this place was so great, why would this Pokémon did not want her to be a part of it? This whole thing was definitely the biggest mind fuck she had ever experienced. This one physically hurts her head the more she thought about it.

_“This must be a dream. Yes, you are dreaming. Only in a dream does everything make no fucking sense. You are probably dying right now, Cathy. Yeah, I could see your corpse lying in the sand somewhere and about to be eaten by some filthy feral. You know, this could be the dream that those about to die have. Heaven, hell Arceus all that good shit are all in your head. All these images could be my representation of heaven, hell or even the god damn Purgatory. And I am going to become an angel or a demon of some shit. Yup, more proofs about how much the sun have fucked up your brain. You can't even make sense in your own head.”_

“PROCEED!” A yelled snapped her back to reality.

She shook her head and saw the two Bisharp were looking rather pissed off. From behind their backs, Axel was giving her the signal to get going. Even if she was telling herself that, these were all a dream, the image of the grunts with their weapons still could make her run for it. Those Bisharp were lucky, if she still had her weapons and attacks, they would not be standing. However, at that moment, she just had to play along.

“I told you to be careful with those grunts,” Axel said, a bit harsh in tone. To that, she felt somewhat nostalgic. That was the tone her mother, every time got into trouble. And just like those time, she would ignore them anyway. However, some of Axel's words made their way back as well: "You can't blame the boss for being too careful."

_“If too careful means scaring the shit out of me at gun point, I would definitely blame him for being an uptight prick. But, again, what kind of mercenaries do they have here that needed such treatments?”_ Another thought ran through her head, another thought that she wanted to ignore.

They passed the grunts, took a left and ran through another corridor to reach their destination. It was a room with the word: “Conference room” written on top of the door in the blue hologram. Axel proceeded to knock on the door gently. “This is it. Anna is waiting inside. You know what to do.” He said while standing next to the door. The metallic door slid open, reviewing a dark empty void inside. She now stood in front of the doorway, facing absolute darkness. The inside the room was giving her a bad vibe. A feeling of dread climbed up her spine. She was considering her decision of going inside. Catherine started that by recollecting what she had seen so far. The icy coffin, mercenaries, massive number of identical engineers and blood hungry grunts; those are not the qualities of a "multi-billion" corporation. Or maybe it was. She did not know how current corporations operated because the book and info she had read were dated.

She shook her head violently. No, why would she be worry? She just had to say no and she would be all right. She reassured herself. She hoped that everything Axel said was true, just say no and get on with her life. Escape all these uncertainties and move on. Just...

"We do everything violent related”; “all that excitement". Axel's words were ringing in her head once again.

She shook her head once again and looked around. Axel was still there. He was giving her the "just get on with it “gesture. That faint smile appeared once again. It was a more welcoming smile this time. She widened her eyes for a brief moment realizing something. A playback of Axel's conversation turned up: "You are an investment and investments sometimes go bad." She shut her ruby eyes, took a deep breath and entered the room with words like "Violent", "Excitement” and the phrase "Brighter future." circled in her head. 

* * *

 

Exposition time:

The Celestial nation: A distance nation, founded hundreds of years ago by a group of psychic Pokémon. They isolate itself in order to avoid the chaos of the outside world. They chose to "purify" themselves by shunning advanced technology. A Council governs them.

The Celestian live a simple life, low in technology achievements but high in spiritual values. As a result, they are rather obsolete compare to the rest of the world. Instead of using technology, they use their psychic power to solve most of their problem, which was not that many, to begin with. It had been this way before the first nuclear bomb ever touched the ground. They share a sense of unity, justice. They also equipped with impressive mental power and refined mannerism. Some sociologists from the outside world viewed them as the remaining imagery of a peaceful past.

The Angelic Guard: The guardians of the Celestial nation. They serve as law enforcement and army. These individuals started training for combat at a very young age and were handpicked by the Council. The Angelic Guards has a special rank system, from lowest to highest are Angel, Archangel, Ruler, Power, Virtue, Dominion, Ophanim, Cherubim, and Seraphim. They may not have the best weapon but they were the one who made the Celestians way of life survive for over 1000 years and many more years to come.

Feral Pokemon: The Essalian Pokémon use this term for extremely uncivilized Pokémon or wild Pokemon if you want, to put it bluntly. These Pokémon lack the brainpower like other Essalians Pokémon. The Essalians have taken advantage of this and tamed, trained some of the feral to use as labor and pet, some are even used as food. Most of them are currently living in the Outland. Due to nuclear fallout spotted in the Outland, some feral had begun to mutate into dangerous and vicious monsters.

Psychic bullet: The concept behind this is creating bullet-like objects using Psyshock, put it in the guns and use Psychic to propel them forward. The barrel of the gun makes her Psychic attack much more focus and accurate. Putting all the force behind the bullet she created, giving it a tremendous force similar to that provided by gunpowder. The inner structure of the barrel and gravity will do their job like with regular bullets. It made the projectile spinning in the air at high speed. This move will give her infinite ammo as long as her concentration and psychic powers are still up. Its flaws are that the projectiles are made from Psyshock so they do not have the mass and momentum like regular bullets. That means these bullets cannot go as far and as fast as conventional ones. It also has no penetrative power whatsoever and explodes immediately upon impact. This made the attack much less effective at long range and only lethal at close range.

* * *

 

Author's notes:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is my first ever story so please forgive possible mistakes in the future and help me fix them.

Thanks again and have a pleasant day.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. They belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. The songs I reference here belong to their respective artists as well. With that out of the way, please enjoy this piece of fanfiction.

* * *

 

Catherine was screaming as the world around her began to turn into a bright white light. Her head was glued to a smooth and hard surface. Body twitched violently in respond to a surge of electricity ran through her system. All of her muscles were doing their best to get her out, but the restraints on her arms and feet were too strong. When her lung was deflated from all the screaming, she stopped and gasped for air. During that state, she began to feel an intensive heat inside every organ of her body. It was building up and building up until it suddenly stopped altogether. _“Was the electricity getting weaker?”_ She could not figure out if that was the case or she just had been paralyzed. The latter seem more likely as she could not even move so much as the tip her fingers afterward. The bright light that was the world then slowly changed into a dim glow. She started to slip in and out of consciousness. She heard a conversation. It was hard to make out most of it as a ringing noised mixed in between bits of dialogs. The only coherent sentence she got before the darkness took over her vision was: _“I love my job.”_

(The song "Do the evolution" by Pearl Jam begins to play)

Chesterization proudly presents.

A Pokémon fanfiction

**Genesis**

(Song ends)

**Chapter 2: Welcome.**

45 minutes earlier

The door slammed shut behind Catherine and left her in the dark. She instantly curled her left hand into a fist, head turned left to right. Her instinct told her to be ready for anything. As her eyes were scanning the room, they picked up a sudden burst of light from the ground. The floor lit up into multiple circle patterns, spreading from the center of the room like ripples. From the innermost circles, thin beams of light sprouted up and mixed in together. Catherine did not know how else to react but step back slightly and expect the worst. The grip on her fist was getting tighter and tighter as the tiny beams began to widen. They then assembled themselves into a blurry green and black humanoid figure. Over the course of milliseconds, the image became three-dimensional. A small white chunk was added on top. The black spot that took up most of the image rounded up into a female business suit. The white chunk became a face with silky gray hair. Facial features were added: a pair of hazel eyes and a pair of lips that bent into a smile. The mixture of light had transformed itself into a hologram of a tall Gardevoir holding a golden notepad. Smaller details were added to the image. A pin with a red G wrapped neatly in an upside down triangle tacked on the suit and a crest of the foundation logo was imprinted on the golden notepad. Those features along with a number of wrinkles below the Gardevoir eyes finished the image.

The image’s head slowly turned to Catherine’s general direction and its mouth started to move in sync with a speaker located somewhere in the room. The sound of a soft-spoken female voice soon flooded Catherine's surrounding.

“Welcome. I am Anna, Genesis’s executive, Supervisor of the Foundation Delta base and I shall be your interviewer for today, miss?”

Reluctant at first, Catherine gave Anna the answer with the fist was still in place: “Catherine, Catherine Kobb.” Catherine slightly raised her chin each time she announced her name.

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Kobb. My deepest apology for not be able to speak with you in person.” Anna then gave Catherine a humble bow. “How are you feeling today, Miss Kobb.” Anna asked, attempted to break the ice.

Catherine popped the knuckles on her fist. “I had better days. But, why should you care?” Catherine then looked the other way, didn't wish to face Anna.

“Well, the doctors said it would take you much longer to fully recover from your injuries. Meeting you quite early like this…worry me.”

“Again, why?”

“I guess it just comes down to me caring for one of my kind. We Celestians got to look out for each other in this crazy world.”

“What?” Catherine's head turned back to Anna, who slowly rolled up her sleeve and showed Catherine her wrist. There was indeed a maze tattoo, exactly like Catherine's on Anna’s skin. If not for Anna’s pale green skin, it would be impossible for Catherine to see it in this dimly lit room.

Aware that she had caught Catherine's attention, Anna covered up her tattoo and continued with a wider grin on her face.

“I wish to share the story of why I am here, but I think it’s best to do it in some other time. Let's get to the main reason why we are here, shall we? Before we could get started, allow me to ask you something.”

Catherine stared directly at Anna's hologram and said: “Go ahead.”

“Yes, since time is valuable here at Genesis, I believe it would be better to confirm this right away. Miss Kobb, do you wish to leave and return to the Outland right now or do you prefer to stay and obtain more information before making that decision?”

Catherine was, confused to say the least. Did she hear that correctly? Did this Pokémon just give her the option to walk away like that? Was this Anna up to something? Of course she did, they all did. Catherine could see that in her smile. Catherine had seen that before, in the dark corners of the Celestial nation. It’s the smile of a merchant. The smile that said: _“I wish to be your friend as long as you could strike a deal with me.”_ If that was the case, then why was she still thinking about it? Why couldn’t she just immediately get away before this Anna got any chance to lure her in? The option was there, she just needed to take it. But why and what was preventing her from saying what she had told the Snivy awhile back? Just say _“No, I wish to leave. And it’s over.”_ Why would she stop at this moment?

_"Say it! What's wrong? That's what you want, isn't it, Catherine?"_ A malevolent voice spoke in her head.

_"Shut up!"_ Catherine spat inside her mind, making the voice changed into a taunting laugh. 

_“I see, you want something else, you want more, much more. Don’t deny it, Catherine. There is no point in lying to me.”_

And that was when Catherine realized that Anna knew what that Catherine wouldn’t turn down her whatever she had to offer.  Why would Catherine want to return to the Outland? Who in their right mind would do that? Who would want to just walk away from an offer provided by a “multi-billion” corporation? The words: “Excitement; Violent and brighter future”, rang in her head once again, but were spoken by the malevolent voice this time.

“Are you quite alright Miss Kobb? You seem to be spacing out. Do you need medical attention?”

Catherine snapped back and quickly shook her head in respond. “NO! I'm fine! Just sorting things out.”

“So you wish to stay then?”

“Yeah, I think I'll be hanging around for a while. Make it worth something.”

“I’ll do my best. I must inform you something. Today interview will be quite different. I’ll be the one who will answer all of your questions, and you shall be the one who decide. So don’t feel threaten by me. I’m only here to guide you, not forcing you into anything. It is a bit strange, yes, but please cooperate.”

“That depends.”

“Very well.” Anna continued. “Have Axel filled you in on The Foundation's operations?”

“Yeah, let me see, uh, what the fuck was it?” Catherine said while using her free hand to gently rub the back of her head. “I will be hired to protect your shit from anything in the Outland by violent means. Killing bandits from left to right. Is that correct?”

“Almost. However, the job we are offering you means more than that.”

“How so?” Catherine said while lifting her eyebrows up.

“So much more actually. But first, have you heard of our corporation: Genesis?”

Catherine released the tension on her muscles and let go of her fist. “Nah, don't think so. But I got a feeling you’re gonna tell me that anyway.” She crossed her arm, anticipating the long and painful speech.

Anna put her hands behind her back. “Genesis, as you may or may not know, invests in advance technologies of all forms. And what do we do with these technologies, you may ask? We use them for the sole purpose of rebuilding and sustaining Essal, turning this wasteland of a planet into the ideal world.”

“How typical.”

“Before we were stationed within various Nations and of course received their support along with protection. At first, things went pretty smoothly. We had discovered ways to made radioactive land somewhat habitable again. Clean and renewable energies were in development and so on.

 However, as our technology became more and more sophisticated, the world began to take more interest in us with…questionable intentions. We were afraid to give it to governments for the fear that they will twist it into something horrible, just like in the past. In order to prevent this, we cut all ties with them and changed our location to the place that needed the most help, the Outland. Unfortunately, that gave us many problems.”

Anna bore a more solemn look. “You see, for the longest time, we along with the Pokémon who took refuge in our facilities were attacked by the land, as you may expect. And then there were also the rival corporations and governments that desired our technologies. They took advantages of the lawless Outland and were straight up robbing us. It was a mess.”

Catherine just gave her the look and said, “What the fuck do you expect?”

“That was the only available option at the time, please understand. In the end, Genesis CEO, Mr. Lucious came up with the idea of looking for skilled, powerful and ruthless fighters, “heroes” to help us counter these threats. They could be soldiers who want to support their family, mercenaries who wish to serve a better purpose or even criminals that want second chances to redeem themselves. We don't care about their background, so long as they provide security for the company and our workers.”

Catherine crossed her arm. “That’s all well and good, but what does that get anything to do with a higher meaning for my job? I mean, I will be hired to kill for the sake of protecting your interests.”

“Your part in the picture? What you are going to do is not just protecting a plot of lands or a random building for some millionaire. You are protecting laboratories, hospitals that house scientists, doctors, engineers. They are our worker and they are a part of our company. They all work hard each and every day to restore Essal’s former glory. You are stopping the bandits, the scums from disrupting the creation of the lifesaving technology this world needs. You would be more than just a member of a security team but a foundation for a better future, a future for everyone on Essal. That includes you as well.

Can you see? I am here, speaking to you because Genesis and the Foundation saved my life. Without them, I would have been dead for a very long time. And now, you could be the one that makes something similar happen to someone else. You could be their hero. Catherine, this is not just me offering you a job. This is I, offering you an opportunity; an opportunity for you to use your abilities for the greater good.'

Catherine gave Anna another doubtful look. Inside, Catherine had more than just doubt. A part of her felt something different. It was sympathy mixed in with some admiration. With that mindset, an image of a much younger Anna flashed in her head. The littles Pokémon was not in a business suit but in rags. She was a lost Celestian, just like Catherine was awhile back. Catherine had not seen much of this world, but she knew what it would be like for a Celestian to live in it. She heard stories and had personal experiences. For a child like that to grow up into the one in front of her, it would have to go through a lot of pain and need a lot of help. _“But how much was a lot? There got to be a home, an education, and a whole lot more for a Pokémon who was stuck in the Dark Ages to rise up and become an executive of a multi-billions company. How much did they give her?”_ And all the sudden, the image of a lost and hungry Kirlia in Catherine’s head got replaced with the question: _“How much can they give me?”_ Catherine almost felt shameful for putting herself into this string of thought. Before she could restrain it, her mouth spoke. “That's nice and all, but, what in it for me? What you are saying is just an ideal. I’m gonna need more than that soooo” Catherine raised her index finger and began to point it at the door.

“No,” Anna said in a slightly deeper tone and a disappointment gaze at Catherine. “We don't expect you to voluntarily perform favors for someone you have just met. There will be handsome rewards for your troubles of course.”

“That’s more likes it.” Catherine bit down her tongue, _"Everymon for itself, that's natural."_

“Bear in mind, though, like all jobs”

“To the fucking point this time, please.” Catherine interrupted her.

“There are rewards and then there are restrictions.” Anna continued. “Which one do you prefer to hear first?”

“Rewards, that the only reason why I’m still here.” Catherine put her left hand on her forehead, caressed it. Again with the thoughts: _"You are being lured in. Remember this one is a merchant, a salesman. She is convincing you to buy her wares with your own self. Don't convince yourself for her. You don't know these Pokémon. Do not let it fall into the wrong hands. Don't”_.

_"Everymon for itself, that's natural. Look at Anna, she is just like you. And you will be just like her if you stay. Let them serve you.“_ The hostile volleys between the two were starting to give her a headache.

Anna didn't wait for Catherine eyes to fix on her, she just continued: “First off, there is the payment. Here, you complete missions to earn your credits. For example, a successful E rank mission will give you 8000 credits. In case you have trouble”

Catherine lifted her hand from her forehead and said. “Yes, I know. That's a lot of money. I'm not that clueless you know. And ranked missions? Are you guys playing explorers or some shit?”

“It is not that far off actually, but we certainly aren't playing. Anyhow, that is just the easiest rank. As you climb to higher ranks, you will earn more, simple as that. The highest rank we got is SSS rank so that should give you something to think about. Next, you will have access to very much anything you want as long as it is not illegal. You can purchase items within the base using the credits you have earned throughout your missions. Those purchases could be better meals, furniture, state of the art weapons for your arsenal and the latest pieces of technology, equipment, etc.

Some of which can only be found in Genesis and the Foundation. You can even enhance yourself through means of body modification or armors. Bear in mind that these purchases are quite expensive, so don’t expect to obtain them right away. Okay? Did you got them all?”

Catherine rolled her index finger. “Proceed”

“The contract lasts for only 10 years. That's mean you will have plenty of time for other activities later on. Speaking of which, Genesis makes sure you have a comfortable retirement afterward. “

“I haven't even accepted the job and you guys talking about retirement?”

“We just want the best things for each of our employees. Back to the subject, when the contract expires, you could use the money you have collected throughout the years of service for other things in life. Like settling down and buy a nice and always affordable house in one of Genesis's prototype cities.“

Catherine made a face when Anna mentioned the word "prototype".

“They do exist, mind you. They are just not very crowded. This house will ensure your sustainability for the rest of your life, even when you are not working. Or you can have the option of continuing for 10 more years if you demand more thrills and money and achieve a better retirement as a result.

To sum things up, we at Genesis will take good care of you if you do so to us in return. It's a mutual relationship.”

“You should have told these before instead of, you know, all the other bullshit.” Catherine was slowly stretching a smile and closed her eyes, hiding the fact that she wanted to punch herself in the face. _"Everymon for itself; Everymon for itself; Everymon for itself.”_ That thought was winning inside her head.

“But don't get too excited because there are restrictions as well. Look around, this base is one of them. This base will be your home during the span of the contract. You will eat, sleep, shop and relax here. To most.”

“They think this is fucking a prison, isn't it?” Catherine added.

“Yes. Therefore, I just want to give it to you straight. However, some found this base to be a good thing. Here we have everything like gyms, shooting ranges, restaurants. It has all the conveniences of an A class city. Some nation’s living standards are not even close to this base. And it wouldn't be that bad since you can still go outside at the time of missions and vacations.”

“Vacations?” Catherine said, and repeated the process in her head: An imaginary slap to the face and _"Everymon for itself"._

“Yes, you will have those. Paid vacations so don't worry. You deserve those since some missions can be quite challenging. The difficulty of each mission can be ranging from tasks like defending facilities such as hospitals and the likes or reclaim territories to extremely dangerous tasks that cannot be generalized such as investigating anomalies, contain certain threats. Consider those to be thrilling mysteries of their own.”

“Wait, reclaim territories? Anomalies? What the fuck happened to protect the fucking doctors and engineers?”

“No, I said you are helping us prevent disruptions to our work. So your job is not exclusive to just simply, say: guarding a door. You also need to contribute in some other ways as well. The territories part? Before, we did lose some of our properties to the bandits. They are mostly consisting of land and other structures. You are going to help us get some of them back. Afterward, we would build new laboratories or prototype city for our workers on these plots of land. You are included. See, you are doing something that would benefit yourself as well. And isn't it better for the world to be absolutely clean of all these criminals? Besides, you still got pay, so dare I say why not? As for the anomalies, well, there are uncharted locations that may hold important discoveries. And they may hold unforeseen dangers as well.”

“I bet they do. And you expect me to be killed before you guys, right?” Catherine said and gave Anna a sideway glance.

“Oh no, we are not. We go through the extra length just to hire Pokémon like you and you think we would throw you in danger without any consideration? Worry not; we only assign such tasks to teams and agents who had proven their capabilities. You wouldn't have to think about those for quite some time.”

“I’ll take that as a maybe.”

“In addition, you must not attempt to escape for we will consider it as breaking the contract. Therefore, you will be fired and have all of your possession taken as a fine. Don't think that you can, Catherine, because your leg bracelet would help us track and disable you at any given time.” Catherine looked down as if confirming a suspicion. 

“Also you must not perform any act of crime during the span of the contract. If you do so, you are making yourself nothing more than those we are trying to cleanse from this world. Don't worry; we don't consider killing bandits as a crime since it is your job. Those are just some of the basic rules to make sure that the place runs tightly and smoothly. Oh and some additional information, the grunts here, are not very bright. Avoid making contact with them.”

“Yeah, that's what the Snivy told me. If they are so fucking dumb, why do you hire them?”

“They are much cheaper than you. And in an underground base filled with a large number of mercenaries, we need a lot of personals to help us monitor and deconstruct potential threats from within.”

“Oh. Yeah, I would too, if I hire someone who has committed murder as my employee. Why won’t those guys do our jobs?”

“They are not skilled enough to adapt to the chaos in the Outland. But do a good job as keeping the base safe. That is all I can tell you. Is there anything else do you wish to ask?”

Catherine returned to her thoughts. This time, she made an effort to push the _“Everymon-for-itself”_ aside and focused on the warning she had given herself. _“Something got to be wrong, but what was it?”_

The malevolent voice inside her head made a statement: _"What is the matter? Are you scared? Now, why would you be?"_

_"NO, I’m not! ”Being-someone's-bitch" will not be another landmark of my life. You hear me? Now shut the fuck up and let me think. "_ Catherine knew that was not entirely true. It was something else. She just couldn't remember it.

_"Ahhh, you want freedom? Don’t flatter yourself and know your place. That's how life works. Trust me, I have learned that for more than 2 decades. Just look at our position right now. We have nothing. Our first month of freedom did not cut it for us, didn't it? Sure, it was an enjoyable experience to murder things without any restraint but that get dull rather fast. "_

_"And fucking exhausting,”_ Catherine added.

_"Yes. And look at you, trying to push your own desire aside as if you have some moral high ground to show for. To that, I got something for you. You are not an Angelic Guard anymore. Stop pretending and stop trying to do so. I say, we stay here. It would be the best course of action for us. Our survival will be ensured. You will have a place to rest your head that is not a rock. And I can still satisfy my craving for destruction. Oh, they also have additional rewards. How much did the Councils pay for your contributions, Catherine?_

_Besides, it is just 10 years. You could just get better landmarks in life with the remaining time you have. And with me inside, you still have a lot ahead of you. Not only so, we are doing things for a good cause. That means your promise won't be affected …much. If that the reason why you have trouble deciding this? Well, considered it’s done. Face the facts, this is job is perfect and both of us know it. Sometimes I wonder, why do I need to do all the thinking for you?"_

_"You fucking moron! How can we believe that whatever they said was not a lie? "_

_"Then what else can we do? Catherine, tell me, what else can we do? Going back to that accursed place and hope for the best? Running in circles and then die?"_

Catherine opened her eyes in realization. She was in denial and defeat. She was defeated by Anna, defeated by the thing that she was supposed to control and defeated by herself. The thought _"Everymon for itself, that's natural”_ made a return and celebrated its victory. She took a deep breath and said: “Alright, I accept.”

“Excuse me, please verify.”

“I’m in.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Cut the fucking act, you are not fooling anybody. I'm sold, okay. You made it sound like the best thing ever so why the fuck not? Where is the contract?”

“Right here.” Anna tapped her golden notepad, commanding a table rise from the floor in front of her. The table then projected a hologram of a crystal tablet. Anna then instructed Catherine to pick it up. With doubt, Catherine moved forward and grabbed a solid tablet out of the table. Catherine almost dropped it in the process. She was in shock when her skin touched the device.

Noticed Catherine astonished look, Anna added: “That was our digital fabrication technology. It is the most used and probably the most exclusive technology Genesis has at the moment. Breathtaking, isn't it?” Catherine did not answer but Anna did not need it, she already had what she wanted. _"All this were just a substitute for a fucking piece of paper? What else do these guys have?"_ Catherine thought while examining the words imprinted on the tablet with eyes wide open.

“So, what the fuck am I supposed to do with this” ‘Catherine said while showing the letter filled side of the tablet.

“First, read it carefully. This contract is rather important.”

And Catherine did just that. Her eyes scanned the transparent tablet, sorting through every word. However, none of those words seemed to stick, probably because Catherine had already made her choice. To her, at that moment, all of these were just a boring combination of letters that appeal only to lawyers. After finishing the final line, Catherine said: “Okay, now what?”

“You shouldn't have rushed.”

“I said, now what?”

“Next, you simply pressed your palm against it. Any hand is fine.” Catherine put her left hand on the tablet’s surface while giving it a tighter grip on her right. The thing lit up in red as she did so. “State your name in addition to the line "I agree to all the terms written in the contract". “

Catherine looked down at the tablet and said: “My name is Catherine Kobb and I agree to all the terms written in the contract.”

The tablet changed its color to green when Catherine finished her statement. Afterward, Catherine put the tablet back to the table, which then turned it back into hologram dust and absorbed it. The table then generated a purple band with the Foundation logo on it. Anna gestured Catherine to pick it up.

“Thank you for your cooperation. You are now Foundation agent number 364, an official part of the new Essal. I know this is a bit rush but, do you think you are ready to get your first mission?”

“Sure, why the fuck not?” Said Catherine after she had put the band on her right arm. The thing tightened them helmed itself into Catherine coat.

“Alright, however first you need to get an update before going anywhere. Tell Axel to take you to the upgrade center, from there they will give you the procedure to have you ready for your first mission.”

“Uh, what, and why? “

“Update. Our weapons and technology are far too advanced for a Celestian to use. Trust me, I know. You need some basic training in order to work as a Foundation agent. However, regular training and manuals would take too long and usually are not that effective. The updates process shall fix that problem. The procedure will give you all the information you need in a flash, and the knowledge you get would stay with you forever. Ask the engineers for more details regarding the process.”

“That's, nice, I guess,” Catherine said with her face being an awkward mixture of awestruck and utterly confused.

“You should get going. The team is waiting for you.”

“Team? As in the whole base?”

“Not really, I forgot to mention that you will work with three other Pokémon as a team or a squad, whatever you want to put it. It would be better for you to have someone cover your back. Do you have any objection with that?”

“As long as they don’t get in my way, that’s fine by me.”

Catherine then turned her back and moved out of the room. Upon reaching the door, she glanced over her shoulder and look back at Anna, who was looking at Catherine with a grin and said: “We expect great things from you.” before disappearing into a mix of floating pixels. Catherine just stormed through the door afterward.

Upon exit, she saw Axel was still standing at the left side at the door. He was gently tapping his foot again the floor, again without making a noise.

“Done already?” Axel asked. “Well, I am all up for efficiency, but that was fast.” He looked at his wristwatch. “Okay, I'm going to take you to the hangar bay and drop you somewhere with shade in the Outland.”

“Yeah, about that.” She rubbed the back of her head. “I chose to stay.”

“Huh?” He said before looking at her armband. “I see. You seem so determinate from before. What's changed?”

“Let just say, I take this job over fighting for a bunch of scraps in the Outland any day.”

“Don’t feel like sharing? Fine with me.”

“Knock the crap and answer me this. Why didn't you want me to join in? This place sounds like the best thing that could ever happen to an exiled Pokémon. So why trying to stop me?”

He scanned Catherine's face from the chin up. Detected her determination in finding the answer, he let her have it: “Like I said before, this job would be too much for a Celestian like you to take. The missions, those should be the easy part for a fighter like you. Nevertheless, the changes you have to make when you are one of us, that's the hard part. The world has changed, Kirlia. Things are not the same as the Celestial Nation anymore. For example, the things that are considered acceptable in your nation may not be accepted here or anywhere else and vice versa. The order and morals of this world have also changed. Will you be able to accept those and make your decisions based on them? The idea of change had and always will be the thing that frightens most. Can you handle that? “

“Pfff, first off, don't patronize me. Fuck that. That kind of treatment always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Second, you have underestimated me Snivy. And I take that as an insult but I'll let you slide…this time. Third, for your question, I'm not a typical Celestian as you can see. I’m quite, how to put it? Adaptable, I'll manage. I always will. You clear?”

“Things are easier said than done. But everything has been said and all have been done.” He paused, closed his eyes and breathed lightly. ”So, what are you planning to do next?”

“I don't know, Anna said some shit about getting an update and have me ready for a mission.”

“Wasted no time, didn't she? Well, if she thinks you are ready then I will oblige, follow me.”

“Hey, another thing “ She then stroke out her right hand. “Catherine Kobb. 26”

“Axel Voynich. 27” said him as he took her hand and shook it twice.

“How the fuck could that happened? You look like 17, tops. And who the fuck are you with that last name, Glacian?”

He gave a grin and shrugged, “It's rather complicated. Think it as me trading my evolution for something really special.”

_"Something special?”_ Catherine frowned upon thinking about it. A thought went through her head _. "Could he have it as well?"_ The subject she was thinking about decided to spoke up in her mind. _"That would be marvelous, but I think he meant something else. I didn’t feel the present in his touch.”_

“Okay. What is this?” Axel said and looked at the hands knot. Realizing she had been grabbing Axel's hand for more than 30 seconds, Catherine broke away the handshake.

“It's a handshake, dipshit!”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” Axel closed his eyes while making himself clear.

“See, I'm one of you fuckers now, better make you tolerable. Got a funny feeling that I’m gonna see you around here a lot.”

A smile cracked on his face.

Catherine continued. “Wipe that smile off your face. Don't you buddies, buddies me, ever. I'm here for the pay and that's all. Now can we get the update thing over with so I can crack some skulls? “

“Sure thing.” Axel shrugged his shoulders and signaled Catherine to follow him.

Axel led the way once again. They made a left turn from the conference room and headed straight to an elevator. The doors opened abruptly as both of the Pokémon were 3 feet away from them. This made Catherine stepped back with her hand gripped into a fist. Not only after Catherine noticed the empty elevator did she relax a bit. “Always on your toes; that's good. It will keep you alive.” Axel told Catherine before entering the elevator with her. Catherine looked around the metallic cabin and could not find any control panel or anything else inside. She remained silent; keeping her from looking like a fool. Axel took the cylinder device out of his belt and twisted it in front of the inside wall, making everything besides the shutter door lit up in various strange and colorful patterns. He then dragged his left index finger across the surface in front, moving some of the shapes around.

Catherine then complimented on the colorful visual but criticized how that would be convenient for anyone. Axel just programmed the thing and stepped back from the wall without saying much besides, “Company's decision, not mine”. The doors shut tight and the elevator began to howl as it descended further down.

Seconds later, a ding marked their destination. Another busy lab with a new set of noise was introduced as the doors opened. However, upon closer inspection, this lab resembled more that of a shooting range than an actual lab. There were enormous glass cases to the left; each with at least two Kadabra engineers inside. One of them would always be holding a weapon and aim it to either a target board or a block of ballistic gel. The rest would just stand nearby and collect data. The glass walls were simply made of pressure-resistant glass as anyone could hear the ravaging sound of gunshots. They were changing from fast and rapid machines guns to shotguns and an abrupt boom from a missile launcher.

On the opposite of the glass cages were a workshop and giant screens mounted on the wall. A few cubicles with dentist chairs (or at least they looked like dentist chair) surrounded by electrical equipment, a number of tables with various machinery, armor, weapons and monitors on them. There was also a dark doorway led to something in the back of this room, which stuck out like a black rectangle in contrast to a room filled with white light. After both Catherine and Axel had made their first step inside, Catherine was greeted by a hologram of Anna coming from a projector near the elevator's entrance.

”Greeting Foundation's agent!” The hologram said with the tone that was identical to the one inside Catherine's pod from earlier.

“What else do you want from me, Anna?” Catherine said.

“Apology, but you have mistaken. I am just a computer created in Anna's image.” The hologram's bow is an almost mirror reflection of Anna's.

“Okay and you are here for?”

“I'm here to help you gain a better understanding of the upgrade center.”

“Make it brief,” Catherine said, seemingly reluctant.

“As the name suggest. This place is where you upgrade your weapons and apply other modifications to things such as armors, barriers, equipment and biological upgrades. Here also houses the update service.

This service will help new employees such as yourself acquire knowledge on the latest weaponry along with other subjects in a relatively short time with little to no side effects.”

“How do you do that? The update thing.”

“We'll implant the information into your brain through…special methods. It is similar to downloading information to your brain.”

“Are you going to explain more on the “special methods”?”

“I was about to, but you have instructed me to make things brief. Explaining the procedure would be time-consuming. Do you want me to?”

“Aghhhh.” Catherine groaned in frustration. “Just don’t bother. In short, you are going to jam my head with information and shit, right?”

“Correct. Before use, remember that only under level five information updates are free. All upgrades, updates and other forms of modifications must be purchase using conventional credits. Do you wish to know more?”

“Nah, I'm good.” Catherine just walked pass the hologram.

“Have a pleasant day.” The hologram quickly retreated to a large projector on the floor not before giving another bow.

Axel tapped on Catherine's shoulder. “Just head to that chair over there and the engineer shall do the rest.” He then pointed to the nearest metallic dental chair and signaled a Kadabra engineer with the number 476259447 standing nearby. “That’s your engineer for today. Have any question just ask him. I’m going to go check on a few things, will see you after the update.”

“Okay, okay, whatever you say, boss.” She said while making her way to the Kadabra engineer Axel had mentioned. After Catherine had turned her back, Axel held his tube device and slowly became invisible.

When Catherine had settled on her steel cold chair, she looked past the standing engineer for a sight at the elevator door. Noticed the absence of the Snivy, she changed her view to her engineer, who was tuning up some machines. He appeared to be humming a tune as he doing so. And once in every while, he would scratch across the numbers on his left arm. Catherine abruptly ended his humming. “Will it hurt?”

He turned to her and said in the same voice and manner as the engineer she had met in the last hour. “Yes. The procedure will stimulate your brain with electrical currents that will mimic nerve activities, which would simulate the learning process. And to speed things up the electrical current here will be much more powerful than those in your head. Needless to say, it would be quite painful.”

Catherine took a deep breath.

“Take this as something to calm your "nerve". It would be over rather quick.” The way the Kadabra gave her a wink just made her cringe from the inside.

“Okay. Good to know.”

“So, how far do wish to know, new agent?” The Kadabra asked.

“How did you?”

“Age of information. I know you were going to come the moment Anna reclaimed the contract. Again, how far.”

“Don’t know, Celestian. Any recommendation?”

“Hmm, if that is the case then your brain would be overload with the regular options. *Tick* Oh well, I will just give you the information on weaponry, and the instruction on digital fabricators. You should do fine without driving skills, basic hacking, the Delta base’s layout, basic repairs, first aid and political related informatiiiiiiiiiiiiiooooonnnnn. Oh dear, this is going to be like giving a Kabutop nuclear weapons, isn't it? Oh well, company's order, cannot oppose.”

“I'm still here, asshole.” Said Catherine as she tried to add some weight to her voice.

Unburdened by her shift in tone, he continued. “Don’t worry, no need to get upset, I will add them later. Other things. Do you wish to have your digital fabricator hidden in your clothes, in your melee weapons or replace your entire arm?”

“Oh, that must be the whole body modification thing. “

“So arm it is.” The Kadabra quickly got down, picked up a blood-covered chainsaw in a bucket on the floor and revved it loudly, spraying some blood on Catherine’s face.

“NO!” She protested. “Sleeve, sleeve, sleeve.”

“Gotcha, hehe, just a joke. An arm like that would cost you over 4000000 credits. And that is the cheapest kind, not include insurance.” He switched the chainsaw off and earned a relieved exhale from Catherine.

He then reached down below for a metallic helmet with wires connected it and a machine nearby. The helmet itself looked like a bowl frame with needles located in various places. He strapped it on Catherine's head, instructed her to put her own hands on the extended pieces of the chair, and pressed a few more buttons. He activated the chair’s restraints on her arms and legs and put his hands on a large lever. “Safety procedure. Nothing to worry about. Now, dream of scientific advancements, new agent. Oh and if you feel something is burning inside your head that lasts for more than five minutes. That means the machine is working.”

“Wait, what!”

The Kadabra pulled down the lever, making the needle pierced the skin on her head. The moment those needles punched through her scalp, electricity currents ran wild inside Catherine head and the rest of her body. She was struggling and screaming violently for a few seconds then stopped with eyes and mouth wide open.

The helmet on her head let out smoke while another machine next to the chair was screaming in siren. “Why is it still going?” The Kadabra asked while his hands were punching all sort of buttons and dials. “Oh, forgot.” He then reached to a machine that was the source of the loud noises. He opened it, stopped the siren and took out what looked like a plate with a steamy and slightly burnt hot pocket on it. He proceeded to put the plate on a nearby table next to the bloody chainsaw, unplugged the wire that connected to the oven and hooked it to a heart monitor lay on the floor. Upon connection, the monitor displayed a chart simulated a steady beating heart. He flipped a switch from another machine with a monitor. The machine showed an image of a brain drawn in red, blue and yellow lines. When everything was done, he picked up his snack and took a bite. A voice identical to him spoke up from behind.

“What in the name of science was going on here?”

“Nothing major actually. Just a new subject having a hard time coping with the updating process.” engineer 447 answered.

“Having a hard time?” This sentence stood before the sound of panic footsteps of Kadabra with the number 158451056 on his arm (let just call him 056 for short) approached and picked up the heart monitor. He hooked his own crystal plate to it and got some reading.

“A hard time? She almost dies!” 056 turned around and yelled at his double self.

“Calm down, she is fine now. Look, she is breathing. Sure she looks like a Magikarp dying out in the sun but still breathing nonetheless.” 447 answered before taking another bite.

“That’s no excuse for that kind of reckless” 158451056 was interrupted by the crunching noise came from 447's mouth. “What on Essal are you eating?” 056 pointed at the half ate snack in 447's hand.

“A hot pocket, would you like to have a bite?”

“No, and dispose of that thing immediately! Consume one and it will take away 2 minutes of your lifespan. Sustain yourself with some real food. We have those.”

“Negative, the cafeteria is 10089 footsteps away. I like eating while working better. It is more efficient. My lost 2 minutes of lifespan? I can always use the bathroom after I die.”

“You, disgust me 447. I couldn't even comprehend the fact that we have the same origin.”

447 answered with a shrug.

“You are hopeless 447. Keeping up those attitudes and they will decommission you. Decommission, I tell you. Take that as a warning from me.”

“Then, I believe I need to finish this delicious treat before that happen. Wouldn't you agree?”

056 just walked away, slowly shaking his head. 447 turned to the monitor displaying Catherine’s brain. He quickly wolfed down the snack, rubbed his hand against his lab coat, picked up a keyboard from the floor, placed his greasy fingers on it and typed rapidly.

“I love my job.” 447 said with a satisfied grin before pressing Enter.

 

* * *

 

Author's notes:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is my first ever story so please forgive any possible mistake in the future and help me fix them.

Thanks again and have a pleasant day.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. They belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. The songs I reference here belongs to their respective artists as well. With that out of the way, please enjoy this piece of fanfiction.

* * *

(The song "Do the evolution" by Pearl Jam begins to play)

Chesterization proudly presents.

A Pokémon fanfiction

**Genesis**

(Song ends)

**Chapter 3: First day on the job**

Catherine woke up in a dark place lit up by a red glow. There was the sound of humming engines in the background. Her head was still hot from the inside.

It took her quite some time to get over the pain and slowly opened her eyes. When Catherine half opened her eyes, she found out that her eyes floaters had become number and icons. She had not heard or seen of any of those icons, yet she somehow knew what they were and how to control them. She knew which one showed her heart rate; what kind of weapons she had at that moment; which one would help her connect to the digital fabricator.

She had a thought about the fabricator and it immediately let her access the inventory. She apparently still had her pistols: Lady Death and Anima in addition to a standard G687 shotgun. There were even explosives as well. She had never touched, or seen whatever those were, but she knew that they were going to bring some hurt. All these information were alien yet familiar to her. She thought about seeing clearer and that somehow disabled all the display. 

With her eyes freed, she had a look around. Zoomed her vision some more, Catherine saw Axel standing near a door with the word “Airlock” lit up in bright red lights. Catherine recalled Axel mentioned about a hangar bay, so she assumed that she had been taken to a plane and was on her way for her first mission.

Then it hit her, Axel is not just a Pokémon who take her through the base. He is going to be her teammate. Suddenly that dumb smile meant something after all.  Axel was doing his thing, juggling his tube device while his foot was still tapping against the floor. It did not make any noise still. This time, a blue crystal visor covered his right eye. His black jacket zipped up and metal plates were added along the sides of his body. Beside him laid a black sniper rifle with an extra-long barrel and a rather large scoop. The handle seemed to be modified to fit his hands.

Catherine shifted her head to the left and saw an enormous eight feet tall Emboar sitting on a row of seats in a relaxing manner. His arms rested on the remaining pieces of two crushed dividers. The mega fire pig was clad from head to toe with battle armor, which had a similar design as the ones worn by the Bisharp grunts. However, while their armors were just a mere add-on, his was a full set. The chest plate, of course, had the Foundation logo inside a purple hexagon. The area around the logo was covered in claw marks, bullet holes along and decorative red stripes. Below the chest plate lied grenades and ammunition holders. The armor had several hydraulic joints in the areas between his waist and legs, around his ankles and some parts of his arms. His legs looked much larger thanks to the added grieves that came along with the suit. Strangely enough, they made his body proportion looked much more balanced than his normal state did. His left hand was left exposed and it was holding an aluminum barrel that said Genja's beer. The other hand held into a fist and was protected with armor plating. The armor plates around his arms painted with bright red and orange flame patterns. All except for his right bicep, which got a symbol of a Braviary in a dark blue circle filled with white stars.

His head was unprotected. The flaming beard under his chin was much longer compare to his peers and the thing somehow looked alive. It was always crawling toward his head for some reasons. He chugged the remaining beer inside the barrel then crushed the aluminum container flat with his head, melted it a bit and tossed it on another seat. He turned his head to the right and met Catherine’s half opened ruby eyes.

“Hey, look who finally woke up.” The Emboar said.

Catherine just rubbed her hand around her forehead and said. “Ugh, what the fuck happened? I don't feel so good.”

“Yeah, just take it easy. Happened to me once and several other times. Don't sweat it, it will be over soon. But here, a little something to wake you up.”

Axel jerked his head to face the Emboar: “I don't think beer is going to cut it.”

The Emboar just swiped his hand and said, “Dude, it’s just energy drink. Stop associate me with some kind of alcoholic jerk bag. Hey, do you want it, my little friend? A little-wake-me-up.” He invited her with up most honesty while showing a small smile, exposing one of his fangs.

“It is a pick-me-up, Rick. And it’s wrong in whatever way you put it.”

“Dude, just cut me some slacks, okay? Do ya want some energy drink? They are semi healthy and delicious.”

Catherine just nodded. _“Little”._ Usually, when someone addressed her that way, she would introduce that Pokémon to her fist. She did not know what made her do so. Either her pride tells her that she was being looked down upon or being reminded that she could not ever grow to her fullest potentials. She did not know what that was, but she could not feel it at that moment. Her head was too heavy and her body was so light that she could not event walk let alone got up and threw a punch.

The Embour activated a device mounted on his belt. It projected a wide beam that made the air around the Emboar's left side glowed in blue. The image of a small aluminum can appeared. The way it became solid was the perfect recreation of how Anna's contract came to be. The fire pig then picked the can from thin air with his two left claws. “See?” The Emboar said and waved the can at Axel, who then just looked at the other way.

With a flick of his wrist, the Emboar threw it toward Catherine. Catherine’s pupils dilated as she had just realized what was going to happen. She immediately used her remaining strength to extend her hand in front of her face and caught the can. Her arm then went limp from the recoil but still held on to the can.

“Nice reflex.” Was the Emboar's complement for Catherine's successful attempt of not getting a dent on her face. Catherine just did not care. She slowly raised the can to her face and pressed it against her forehead. The little bit of coolness on the can suddenly felt like a breeze from the heaven. Her head was cooling down and the headache was gradually getting weaker.

“No, that not how you—“

Catherine proceeded to open the can and take a sip. She grimaced at the taste but then went for another sip. The taste was disgusting yet refreshing at the same time. Before she even realized, half of the can was empty.  She then shook her head violently. Whatever in that can be the wake-up call that she needed. Her focus was restored somewhat. Not 100% yet, but it was close. Catherine, at that moment, could feel every cell in her body fired up. She then went for another sip. This time, she could truly feel the taste. It was much bitterer than what she used to, but her willing to take whatever she could.

“Are you sure she is a Celestian? Don’t want to step on somebody’s toe but…”

Axel caught the tube device and said: “I guess it's safe to say: We welcome you to the modern world and. Welcome to the team, Catherine!”

“Oh yeah. That reminds me. You own me 10000 creds for that.” The Emboar cut his sentences.

“Yes, Rick. That was incredibly relevant. I'll keep that in mind. Okay, Catherine, this fellow here is Richard Douglas.” Axel said while pointing at the Emboar with his index finger.

“Hey. What is up?” Rick said and saluted her with his right claws.

Axel continued the introduction. “He is our heavy hitter. Dangerous on and off the battlefield. Go anywhere near him and you will regret it. Unless getting burned and expose to explosive are your thing then you two are going to be best friends.”

“Yup, couldn’t say it better. Minus the exploding part, though. Hey Doc, aren't you gonna say something to our little friend.”

Catherine had regained that feeling. The feeling gave her the decision of making an impact on someone's face when that word is associated with her. She was about to give the Emboar the regular treatment, no matter what the size different was.

“You should stop calling her that way Rick. She has a very high option about herself, apparently. She is much older and stronger than you may think. I saw some personal issues down there too, so watch your steps.”

Rick turned to Catherine, who was looking Axel's content expression with utter surprise. “What? Oh, crap. Well, I don’t know. I’m sorry. Forgive me. My words are somewhat hit and miss, most of the time. Don’t let any of my words get to you. I never look down on anyone, especially my teammates. You should loosen up a bit. Take another sip, you’ll be fine butter cup.’

She waved a forgiving gesture and followed Rick’s request. The taste of the drink seemed to have grown on her. She began to drinking it up, enjoying every bit. Upon finishing the can, Catherine balanced it on her left hand. Catherine turned to Rick. “Just remember. Call me that way and I shall prove otherwise.” She engulfed it with her psychic energy and slowly crushed into a neatly metal cube no larger than a pebble. “Understood, Emboar?”

The Emboar did not flinch at the destruction of the can. He just laughed. “Ha, that’s pretty cool. I like that. But sure, whatever you say my friend.”

Axel made a fake cough in order to catch Catherine's attention. “And you already know my name. I'll in charge of scouting and infiltration. I do perform regular hits for the Foundation from time to time but I’m not too proud of that. On the battlefield, you and the enemy would not know I  exist. And Doc, again, you have been awfully quiet, say something.”

A loud "clank" emitted from the floor. Natural reflex turned her head toward the source, giving her the chance to face the fourth Pokémon in the room. The divider still kept most of the Pokémon hidden from her. She can only saw what she thought was a leg made of metallic skeleton and color wires. The rotating joints on the knee and the two hydraulic pistons in where the thigh should be, helped the Pokémon stood up. The leg moved the Pokémon forward with a series of clink and clang. Catherine's eyes slowly looked upward and gave her the full view of the Pokémon. His entire lower body, from the waist down, was made from cybernetics. Above it was a white tee shirt, filled with upside down scribbles of math equations written in black marker. Outside the shirt was a torn and slightly burned white lab coat with the Foundation logo, similar to those of the Kadabra engineers. However, this time, the exposed left arm was just a shoulder made of gears and bolts attached to the Pokémon's body. Above the collar were a thin Alakazam face ravaged by time, stitches and a black bionic eye that dug its roots in the left side of the face. When Catherine looked at him, the eye lit up crimson red. She looked down, avoided making eye contact with him.

She then saw something was moving in the palm of his right arm. It was his remaining arm. However, this one was made completely out of cybernetic materials instead of aged and pale flesh like the other. On it was abundant of gadgets crammed together. In a series of quick motion, he latched, twisted the arm, and attached it to his left shoulder. The finger danced after the connection was made. He then used his left arm to hold on to the rail above then stared down at Catherine with the mechanical eye. Curiosity got the better of her, she looked up. With a face looked like a dried out corpse and a body made of Arceus-know-what, Catherine didn't feel anything else but a sense of dread when she faced him again.

She had heard a story of a Pokémon who tried to make himself live forever by cutting away the rotten pieces of his flesh and blood and used metal and mercury to take their place. Thanks to the Alakazam in front of her, she should no longer have any trouble imagine that Pokémon anymore. He then began to speak in a low and damaged voice: “No need to be afraid. We are all monster here.” The way the sound came from his rotten lips unsettled Catherine greatly. The word "ruthless" spoken in Anna's voice returned to her head and the word "monster" suddenly joined in as well. She could felt her muscles tensed up, heart beaten faster and faster.

“What the hell are you doing, man?” Rick asked the Alakazam in his docile tone. Somehow, this simple question turned into a thunder crack in Catherine's head very quick. The crimson machine eyes turned into a light shade of blue, and the Alakazam's voice changed by 180 degrees.

“Hehehe, well, it seems that my comedy banter had been ruined. I only wish to lighten up the mood, you see. I'm trying to act intimidating during my introduction and then added a punch line in the final part.” He then turned to Rick. “Unfortunately, you have completely sabotaged it with you're up most unnecessary question, Rick.' He retained that fast-paced speech and voice of a Kadabra engineer. However, his was a bit broken compared to them; as if he was speaking through an old, rusted megaphone.

Catherine was struck with relief when the Alakazam completed his sentences. It was one of those moments when you prepared to tackle head on what looked like a tsunami from afar, but in the end, it was just a gentle wave passing by. The sudden drop of tension made Catherine light headed and somewhat, disappointed.

“Yeah, you better prepare for weird ass crap like that in the future.” The Emboar told Catherine before stepping out of his seats.

Presented Catherine with a PR grin, the Alakazam then continued: “I prefer the phrase "an acquire taste in comedy", Rick. Anyhow, good afternoon, Catherine, I am Dyvilov Voynich. For easier references, call me Doc. Everyone does. Should be clear that I am an engineer not a medic. Pokémon tends to confuse that somehow. My job is relatively simple, controlling the battlefield with my robotics, repairing vehicles and hacking. Whenever you need help with machines, I shall be there. Any question?”

“Wait, you last name is Voynich?” Catherine said as she tried to catch up with his speech.

Noticed Catherine touch of confusion, he answered: “Strange question, maybe, ahhhhh. Affirmative. Glacian. Not pure blood, so please, do not apply stereotypes. Though I admit that I enjoy cold weather but everything else that made the Glacians famous or infamous, do not reflect on me. Do not ask me to drink alcohol. I am what Rick calls "dry as a bone". Have no idea why my marrows got anything to do with alcohol consumption. Not an Arcadian, so do not know. Appeared to be off-topic, an apology. Hum, still have that look.

Ohhh, you and Axel had met before, yes. Yes. If Axel's last name is your concern then I will get rid of it immediately before I'm going in too deep. I adopted him. Simple as that. Never get married before. Good news for you.” Doc slowed down, deepen his voice a bit and gave Catharine the best seductive wink that he had which looked more like a pale yellow mudslide going downhill. “So, seeing anybody lately?” Doc question was answered with a more disturbed then confused look from Catherine. “Hehehe, worry not, I kidded. 92 year old, getting married and making moves on females would be pointless. Plus body no longer function, as you can see.” Doc continued with his fast, monotonous tone and that PR grin in between pauses.

Axel then cut his ramble: “I think you have done enough with lighting up the mood, Doc. It is better for us to move on.”

“Ahem, point taken,” Doc said after he had completely disabled his ability to laugh. “So, the mood has been lightening up, the introduction has been completed. The only thing remain is. Oh forgot, Catherine what about you?”

“Catherine Kobb, that’s all you need to know, for now.”

Doc replied while scanning her with his left eye. “UUUUUUUUUUUUUuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Good enough. Next, can you use your Digital fabricator? If so demonstrate. Safety procedures. Don’t want to see you lose a torso or something. Don’t give me that look, Rick , it had happened before.”

Out of instinct, she looked down at her right arm and saw the device. The piece of gadget had taken a large portion of her right sleeve. It did not have any buttons, just a small screen and a projector on the smooth metal surface. She activated the Digital fabrication process with her thought. A hub popped in front of her eyes and gave her the option to collect her pistols. The projector on the device let out the image of her beloved guns floating in midair. She just grabbed them out of the air and put them back on her shoulders afterward.

“Good to see the updates doing its job,” Doc said while adjusting a few things on his left arm.

Noticed Catherine’s customized guns, Rick said: “Nice piece, but to truly make it in the Outland you need one of these.” And activated his own fabricated device. The projection formed into a single barrel RPG with a blue plastic light shell, hovering in the air. Rick then yanked the weapon and tossed it to her. She caught it easily and put it in firing position. The thing was strangely light. She got the feeling of holding a thin roll of silk when she put it on her shoulder. Rick continued. “Not the best thing in the world but it’s pretty beastly for a single shot, I tell you that. Consider it an apology gift.”

“Okay, Emboar, em, Rick.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Oh, and I got something else for you,” Doc said and gave Catherine a small device painted in Genesis’s color with a crystal at its center. “A field generator, for your protection. Most of us call it Barrier. Self-explanatory, it generated a force field around you that would block all manner of attack and projectiles coming your way, like bullets. Be mindful, doing this will drain its power and making it less and less effective. And, what do you know? It will eventually disappear. But that when the crystal came into place. Whenever the power runs out, it reenergizes the generator and restores the force field. This takes time, though, so when you are hit, just run away, temporarily. Worry not. This will not affect your own projectiles. So, shoot away.”

“That is, awesome. I guess.” Catherine said before strapping it on her jean.

Axel picked up his sniper rifle moved toward the center of the room and gave her some syringes containing pink liquid.  “And in cases when you took a few hit, use these. They are everything you need from a first aid kit, binding, antiseptic, painkiller, and the likes. They will also repair your damaged tissues at a rapid rate. “When in pain, stick it in your veins”. That’s not my attempt to be funny, that’s the actual words from the creator.”

Doc interrupted their conversation. “Uh, yes, met her a few times. Nice young lady. Smell like excessive use of perfume, though.”

Axel casted off his remark and continued. “However, they cannot replace the role of a doctor, just a mean to give you enough time to stay alive and get treated.”

“I don’t think I enjoy sticking this science bullshit in my body, but I’ll take it.” She reached her hand out and took the syringes.

Axel said while reloading his gun. “So everything is done, any other questions before we get to work?”

She deconstructed the RPG into blue-colored dust and let her sleeve absorbed it. She then summoned the G678 shotgun to her hands. The shotgun had a plastic like shell just like the RPG Rick gave her. However, it was painted red with black lining and the number G678 imprinted on the side. She looked at the front and saw two barrels that led to forever. She then switched back to the proper holding position. With her index finger on the trigger guard, she asked. “So, who the fuck are we killing now?”

Doc decided to answer. “A Bandit fraction called, well Bandit kingdom. They have taken a lot of Genesis owned land recently. So naturally, we are about to claim some back. Uncreative name, you ask. Understandable, as most bandits have limited education. The name probably comes from the strange fetish for the time of kings and knights and they love to spill broken Language of the Old constantly. I wish that whole thing was a joke.”

Rick said. “These bandits are a new group so kinda caught us by surprise. But not today. as we gonna gave them the sucker punch they deserve. Big mistake for building a friggin castle in the Outland.”  He then caught his own punch with his left claws.

Doc said. “Also notice. Small chance, not very optimistic but should look around for some other Pokémon that is not bandits, civilians, and the likes. Characteristic should be screaming but not shooting at you. But again, not too optimistic.”

Catherine stepped out of her seat. “I see. But just us, against, a castle?”

Rick said and offered a pat on Catherine's back, which she declined. “We are an army of four my lil…eh, friend. Have a little confident in yourself. Besides it's still under construction so shouldn’t be hard. A B-rank mission after all. We are just going to kill these bastards before they got the chance to be a real threat.”

“Okay, when do we get started?” Catherine said then pumped her shotgun, trying to accept the fact that her first enemies were so…strange.

The inside of the plane suddenly shook and caused Catherine to fall on her face. The pains sprang up and spread from her non-existing nose. She slowly stood up and reclaimed some of her pride by refusing potential help from the Pokémon in the room. The inside of the plane shook violently, making the four Pokémon held on to the rails above them. An announcement came from the cockpit.

“Okay, prepare to kick ass in 3, 2, and 1. Suck on this you sons of bitches!”

A series of booming sound of cannons erupted from the sides of the wall. They were firing consecutively for 15 to 20 seconds. Each blast rocked the plane and everyone inside it. When the cannons seized firing, Catherine began to feel the shift in pressure inside the plane that made her stomach churned. Not letting that got to her, she held on to her shotgun. The change in the sound of the engine indicated a landing was being made. Rick summoned a large assault rifle with a charred coating and a humongous ammo clip. He turned the safety off, cocked the weapons and made his way to the wall on Catherine's right. Doc was still standing beside Catherine. His mechanical arm stopped holding on to the rail above and activated a projector inside his palm. He summoned a submachine gun with two clips of ammunition attached on the sides. “Get ready for combat,” Doc told Catherine as he finished preparing his weapon.

The wall then started to move, moments after the engine turned into a gentle hum. It opened up a gap and let the light come in. Catherine shielded her eyes while the others moved closer to the doorway. Rick popped his knuckles. His flaming beard grew bigger and bigger, heating up the inside of the room, fanning Doc and Axel to the side for a brief moment. A foul stench of rusted metal was also making it way inside as the doorway fully revealed itself.

Their plane was hovering on top of a desert floor filled with large black creators. In between were littered with various Pokémon remain. It was impossible to make out which kind of Pokémon, as blasts from the plane's cannons shredded them into pieces and burnt them to crisp at the same time. Behind the yard filled burning bodies was a metal medieval style castle. At least 50 feet high walls and a mountain in the back protected the castle itself. Said walls were made from leftover armor pieces of tanks and fighter jets in the past. All covered in a thick layer of rust and freshly made holes with the identical size as the ones on the ground. In the middle of the wall was a drop gate completed with two pulling chains and spikes with the size of a pillar on it. One thing missing from this castle was a moat. However, no one could afford that luxury in the Outland desert.

“Hell Raiser!” Rick yelled before tilting the plane with his jump. When the metallic shoes of his armor were lifted from the floor, his beard rapidly grew in size, engulfing his entire head in flame. He clutched tight to his assault rifle. Flame crawled out of his hand, heated up the gun from the handle all the way to the muzzle. When he touched the ground, the flame on his head shrunk back to its original size. Rick had changed a bit. A thick layer of heat coated the gun in his hand. His eyes were no longer brown. They were burning red. Rick let out a maniacal laughter and charged toward the gate.

The pulling chains extended and dropped the gate down, releasing the welcome committee. A swarm of Nuzleaf, Scrafty with a few Machoke were first in line. They armed with spears, machetes, and sidearm and wearing light armors around their body. These armors were made from scrap metal, tires, anything that these bandits could get their hands on in the Outland. They have a piece of red cloth on the top of their helmet for some reason. All of these certainly fitted Doc’s description. A few Mandibuzz and Murkrow flew from a nest located somewhere behind the gate. The flying types picked up some of the Nuzleaf, flew until they reached Rick and then bombarded their allies into combat. The Nuzleaf landed with a series of painful thuds. Most of them managed to stand up and moved toward the plane with reduced speed. The Scrafty for an oblivious reason ended up closer to Rick than the air-strike Nuzleaf. They did that just by running normally.

While approaching Rick, the bandits’ mouth let out various ramble concerning how they were going to make a stew out of him. Rick answered their suggestion with a crazed laughter as he almost crushed the trigger with his claw. The rifle fired with a chain of booming sound in complimentary to Rick cackle of delight. The bullets left the barrel with explosions and set the targets on fire immediately upon impact.  Those who unfortunately became these targets could feel their skins, fat, and flesh cooked before actually felt the force of bullets after bullets threw them to the ground. Grass types were not so fortunate for they were instantly combusted before the bullets even hit, turning each one into crumbling torches in a matter of seconds. Rick laughter was getting louder and louder after each kill. In between his laughter were nonsense shouting like. “THIS IS MY SHOTTY!; THE SWEET SOUND OF SUFFERING. ; STOP SCREAMING OR I’LL KILL YOU!”

Axel along with his sniper rifle stood beside the doorway and provided cover fire for Rick. He activated his visor, making it displayed an abundance of statistics. He took a knee, took aim and pulled the trigger. The extended part of the barrel recoiled back, sending a long and thin shell to the head of a Scrafty, blowing his head clean off. The part with scope lifted up ejected an empty shell out of his gun and allowed Axel to load another round. He fired another shot and then repeat.  Every time he pulled the trigger, the gun kicked, pushing him back with tremendous force. Yet that did not seem to tire him out. He just held that sniper rifle steadily, shots after shots. His help, however, was not needed, as the current bandits could not do much to Rick anyhow. Spears, knives and even bullets that were thrown at Rick general direction. However, they always stopped 2 feet away from the Emboar. Everything that was about to hit him would be blocked by a force and a sound of static before falling to the ground. If an enemy managed to escape Axel’s shots and attacked Rick, Rick would give a taunting laugh, bounced off the attack and slowly adjusted the tip of his gun to that enemy.

As Rick advanced to the castle gate, a number of Sandslash drilled their way out the ground and joined the fight in the form of spinning spike balls. One of them darted at Rick, rattling his barrier. Then another slammed his back, completely broke the invisible protection. Another one rose up. This time, Rick gave him the flaming back of his right hand and shouted: “INFERNO BITCH SLAP” really fast. His fiery fist set the Pokémon on fire instantly and sent the burning remains a few feet up in the air. He let out another laugh but soon interrupted by a Sandslash hitting his left side. The armor managed to block and send the Sandslash to the opposite direction. Rick then approached and grabbed him by the neck, then released fire out of his arm and allowed it to latch itself on the Sandslash's head. It began by charred the skin then slowly burned the Sandslash's face. The Sandslash's scream was splitting into parts while the fire slowly chipped him away piece by piece. Soon, the scream connected into a stream of agony shriek when the fire abruptly grew in size, devoured the Sansslash’s head. Another Sandslash launched toward his back, making him drop his victim. This one somehow attached himself on his back and jabbed his claw in between Rick's armor gaps. This failed to penetrate his armor but it was rather irritating to Rick. Rick tried to reach back but his body structure would not let that happen.

“BIG MISTAKE, YOU LITTLE-“

*Bang*

Rick did not know what happened, only that the Sandslash had stopped. However, judging from the sound and feeling of the Sandslash’s weight began to drop, He did not want to know and carried on his assault.

“All right, my turn,” Axel said as he ejected a smoking shell out of his rifle. He then absorbed the gun with the handheld device. After the gun was gone he made the device emit a three-foot long triangle blade, making it looked like a sword with the device served as a hilt. The blade itself was made from the blue crystal material and it was so slim that it would disappear if was held in a different angle. Axel cartwheeled himself out of the plane and landed silently. A Sandslash popped up to his right. He immediately disappeared along with the blade. As the Sandslash passed the space where Axel was, a cut slowly formed under its eyes and stretched all the way to the tip of its tail. In a split-second, the Pokémon was cut into two. His remain fell to the ground. Its blood painted some color on the sand. Another Sandslash emerged from the ground.

The sands below danced some more and soon that Sandslash bit the dust. What ended his life was a diagonal slash in the torso. Axel reappeared with a bloody blade in his left hand. He then took a quick look at the battlefield and dashed forward, closing the gap between him and Rick. He morphed his blade into a chain with a drill at the end. He proceeded to swing at another Sandslash near Rick’s location, impaled the Pokémon in his spinning ball form.

Doc stepped out of the plane, giving Catherine the view of the outside. Doc activated a projector in his right palm, summoned up a small contraption. The thing folded itself into a turret standing on a four-legged pod with a machine gun on top. Activated its laser sight next to the gun, it locked onto one of the flying types and instantly reduced the target into a pile of blood and feathers. He then fired his fully automated sub-machine gun in tandem with it, covering as much of the sky as possible, brought down the flock of Murkrow in rapid succession. Few of which were still holding on to a Nuzleaf. The remains of the flying types and possible Nuzleaf fell on top of Rick’s barrier, obscured his vision and stopped his onslaught. “DAMN IT!” Rick yelled before dodging another fallen body.

Doc then holstered his gun and launched from his mechanical arm a white spinning ball in the sky. The ball exploded, spreading white vapor in a large radius. The vapor was some type of icy sustain as it turned everything it into ice statues. The flying types fell to the ground and landed with the sound of shattering glasses. Doc then looked back at Catherine, who was standing motionless with the shotgun in her hand.

(The song M1A1 by the Gorillaz begins to play)

She was looking at the mayhem that had unfolded in front of her. Rick was crushing the head of a Machoke with his feet. Axel, on the other hand, kept on disappearing and reappearing with speed and timing was almost as smooth as Catherine’s teleportation. Every time he did so, either an arm would fall or a head would roll. Doc’s little contraption was decimating anything that didn’t have the foundation logo on their clothes. The laser pointer quickly switched target from the target.

“Get off! I ain’t got all day for your whimsical bull crap!” The voice inside the cockpit urged her. Catherine tuned it out, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She let the wind and the horrid stench of rust and corpses blow in her face. _"Rise and shine, keeper."_ The malevolent voice said. She jumped and teleported on the pool of blood set by Axel. With her feet on the Sandslash body, she put on her sunglasses, grinned and said: “Same old job.” Then looked down at her new weapon. “With much more BOOM!” She began to teleport in a zigzag pattern at blinding speed, caught up with Rick and Axel in mere seconds and left Doc in an astonishing state. Rick seem indifferent with her appearance, for he was too busy executing a Machoke with a neck snap. Axel, on the other hand, was holding back a kill to avoid being caught in her on coming rampage. She tackled a Scrafty upon exiting her teleportation. She struck the shotgun to the Pokémon body before he got the time to fall down. She pulled the trigger, butchered him in half. Catherine teleported to another target, this time, a Nuzleaf that Axel spared. Did not bother gaining in close to him, Catherine just fired the shotgun. The pellets launched from the barrel mangled her target, opened up the Pokémon like a box filled with organ and blood confetti, dyed her coat with a shade of dirty dark red in the process. She teleported to another enemy, attempted to make the front of her coat pure red with bandits’ blood. She drop kicked a Scrafty in the face. Her metal sole straight up crushed his face and turned his head to a puddle afterward. Catherine then teleported to get back on her feet and moved to a Machoke. She raised her shotgun, pressed to his abdomen and squeezed the trigger. However, to her dismay, she got the sound of a gun starving for ammunition instead of a cry of pain. The Machoke then took his chance and swung his blade at her, which she dodged with ease. Catherine decided to kill him the old fashion way. She started by bashed his jaw with the stock, staggering him. She switched her grip on the shotgun to match that of a batter’s pose and repeatedly swung her gun left and right, each hit sprayed blood mixed up with bad breath in her face. Next, she teleported behind him and used all her strength to whack him in the back, with the blow landed really close to the spine. This dropped him to his knees and semi-paralyzed him. The Machoke could not do anything besides looked to his left and saw the tip of Catherine's shotgun stock going for his face. The stock then hit him with a snap, fracturing his skull and mashing parts of his brain. The Machoke then fell to the ground, lying in an awkward position of his leg curled up and both arms stretched out.

(Song ends)

She then took a breather and took the glasses off. Each breath was her body telling her that she could have offed him in a much more efficient fashion. While catching up her breath, Catherine looked back and saw the plane she was in earlier. It looked more like a space shuttle than a conventional plane. The vehicle had two wings carrying two massive engines that appeared to be able to turn from vertical to horizontal. A black one-way glass covered the cockpit. Under it was two cannons. Both were still smoking. The plane then hovered up skyward like a helicopter. A beeping siren suddenly rang on everyone communicators. The voice from the cockpit spoke up. “Lock on? Can somebody kill the idiot with the launcher located on the- Oh god damn it!”  A rocket launched itself toward the plane and took out the right engine, crippled it. The plane twirled around for a few second before crashing down 25 feet away from Doc, who was reclaiming his turret. The sound on the communicator changed rapidly from scream of panic to gargling statics rather fast.

The burning carnage was indeed caused by a Scrafty with an RPG. The Pokémon was hiding in a hole opened up from earlier by one of the Sandslash. Unfortunately, for him, that shot toward the plane was his final action before getting his head blow up by Axel's sniper bullet. She caught site of Axel slowly became visible, holding the rifle with one hand and the blade skewing the head of a Nuzleaf in the other. 'That was embarrassing.' he said before removed the blade from the Pokémon head. Doc ran passed Catherine with his gun and said, “Don’t worry. He won’t be missed.” Catherine rested the shotgun on her waist and whipped out Lady Death.

A large number of Pokémon left the gate. A mixed group of various Pokémon including a few Electabuzz, Bisharp, a couple Machoke and several Rhydon. This time, they were carrying much bigger guns and wearing more armor. Among them was a few infantries carrying shields made of blast doors and pieces of war machines. Each of these shields had a crude drawing of a crown and gigantic spike that could easily impale Catherine in one well-placed stab. Some Bisharp were carrying smaller round phalanx with the same drawing. Machine guns stroke out of the mail slots on the large shields and fired indiscriminately. These bandits surely did not see themselves going back alive, for the gate began to pull up behind them. Axel made a run for the gate but was deterred by a barrage of bullets as the bandits shot at the team with everything they got. The space between them was littered with assault rifle rounds.

Doc quickly crouched down and deployed a set of machines out of his arm projector. This one folded itself into a metal rectangle frame. Doc then gave the others the signal to take shelter behind the frame. However, the only one that obliged was Axel. Two devices located at each far end of the frame flashed their red light and sprayed out a large amount of dark blue non-transparent liquid. The substance began to stack up lay after layer and became a blue jelly wall in mere seconds. It was wide enough for both Axel and Doc along with another Pokémon to take cover from enemy fire. The wall took quite a beating. Each bullet punched through the surface, blasting away a few drops of the wall. Yet, miraculously, not a single bullet went through all the way. They all would just went mid-way inside the gel and then just stay there in stasis.

Finished loading up his sniper rifle, Axel popped up to dish out a few more shots. Rick and Catherine were both in the open and none of them wanted to back away from enemy fire. Catherine, with Lady Death in her hand, was in a constant teleportation loop. She was trying to put some psychic bullets into the eyes of the bandits, but her shots were not sharp enough. Even their torso was hard for her to hit. The whole time she just tried her luck and hoped that her shots would stick.

Rick, in some way, in this hail of bullets, he was having a ball. His laughter was getting louder.  At the same time, the electric static surrounded Rick was becoming more frequent after each hit. However, that did not bother him. Probably because who would not love easy targets standing in front of them? Unlike Catherine, he did not need to jump back and forth and fire his weapon at random, he just needed to stand still and spray lead. Rick’s attack burned most of the unshielded enemies in the front line. From time to time, a few others would be send flying backward with a bullet nailed in the chest or stood still and held on to a head that was no longer there. Doc just leisurely released a blue buzzing orb. The orb struck a bandit and exploded, spreading electric waves. The effect burned their flesh and made them dance for Doc’s amusement. This along with his submachine gun made the number of enemies wither down rather fast.

Meanwhile, the shield infantries was coming closer to Doc’s gel cover, indicated by the sound of bullets hitting the blue gel getting more rapid. Rick’s barrier finally failed and exposed him to the oncoming fire. The bullets cracked his armor. He covered his face with his left arm and fired his assault weapon blindly. However, the only kind of bandits that were still standing was the one with the shields. Noticed the sound of his bullet just ricocheted off the shields, Rick could not help but groan. He then recalled the assault rifle and summoned a six-barrels rocket launcher. The bandits then focus their attack on Rick, even more, making him shot a salvo of six rockets to the sky. The rockets flew upward for a few feet then changed course and rain down on the bandits, who kneeled down and let their shield take the fiery explosions.

Took the opportunity, Catherine summoned a grenade and held it in her left arm. She released the dark purple aura out of her sleeve and let it engulf the grenade. She pulled the pin and closed her right eye. Catherine threw it at the bandits, all of whom were still kneeling. One of the Bisharp saw the piece of explosive laid on the ground and shout: ‘We got boom.’ ,telling the rest to stay put before picking it up and threw it upward. Without saying a word, Catherine conjured up a purple cloud around her left hand and held it in a fist. “Singularity.” She said at the same time as a dark purple vortex began to from around the grenade. The grenade the pulled the Bisharp laying around it up in the air. They were floating helplessly around the small grenade. Catherine dropped Lady Death to the ground and used both her hand to make the vortex even more powerful. Over time, more and more enemy was sucked up. Some held on to their heavy shields and managed to remain on the ground. However, most of them fell victim to the traction. The inevitable happened, the grenade went off. The explosion was small, but the density of enemy around it made up for that. Limbs and body parts from some of the Bisharp became unintentional shrapnel, killed and injured the rest. The bandits became disorganize and stun from Catherine’s attack. The remaining troops stood up and held on to their respective protection. Those who lost it just took out their gun and charge forward.

With the reduction in enemies’ number and their lack of focus, Axel took out his blade and became invisible once again. Doc from cover provided Catherine with cover fire and warnings about potential threats. Axel reappeared beside a Rhydon, who was about to ram Catherine with his massive shield. Axel chopped off both his arms with one well swipe, dropping the shield. Axel retracted the blade turned around. Axel then thrust a newly constructed blade in the eye of the Rhydon, not even bat an eye as he did so. Rick and Doc soon joined in the effort of dividing the group before they could recover. From the cover, Doc summoned and threw a device at the mob. It got behind the bandits and took a few second to deploy into a spinning flamethrower, setting them on fire, sending the Pokémon into a panic state. After setting a few Electabuzz and Machoke were on fire, the device went off with a bang. Rick did his thing, running toward enemies and punching them until they give up. Rick changed to another large shielded enemy. The Pokémon behind it tried to tackle the Emboar with his shield. Rick just caught the spike by the tip and spun it. After two or three rotations, Rick tossed the shield along with the Pokémon to the gate, impaled him on the spikes. Rick them made his way to the smaller ones, punching his fiery fist in the phalanx until they give in to the recoiled. Then Rick would strip the shield and punch the Pokémon in the face or crush its head using both his hand. At one point, instead of throwing away the shield, he kept it and us it as a way to bash the Pokémon in the face. Doc summoned his turret once again, but the little machine was having a hard time to pick a target as Catherine and Axel were killing things left to right fluently. The machine did not want to interrupt that, or at least it was not programmed to. When the last bandit got his head cut off by Axel, the black metal door shut tight, blocking the team view of the castle.

Leaving the corpses behind, Rick ran toward the gate and punched the iron door. However, that did not do a thing. Rick gave it pounding after pounding. The door still did not budge.

“Great, Rave is dead. How do we suppose to get inside?” Rick said while shaking the pain out of his fist. His voice went back to the easygoing tone and his eyes return to normal.

“I'm not dead you fat bastard! Now, can someone help me out this? What am I smelling? Oh god. Help...*static*” The communicator abruptly shut off.

“So close.” Rick sighed and went for another punch.

Doc said. “Look like my experimental safety foam work. Which is good, in some regards.”

“Anyhow, he's still out, so what now?” Rick said, continued punishing the gate with his fist.

Catherine dusted Lady Death and put it back on her shoulder. “How about this?” Catherine said then put her left palm on the gate, feeling the leftover vibration. She began to concentrate, her eyes started to glow purple. “Gravity,” she said. Her palm then emitted a dark purple aura, spreading all across the gate. The gate then slowly absorbed the purple mist of aura. Catherine lifted her hand and put her right foot on the metal door. She then put her left foot on it and started to take a leisure stroll on the vertical surface. Doc and the others watched in awe as she made it halfway through. Standing on the broadside of the gate, she yelled. “Come on, don't be little bitches and step on. We still got things to kill!” Doc gently stroked his mustache. “Fascinating, a special ability. Should be asking questions later on.”

“What’s special about that? It just the move Gravity used in a different angle.” Axel said while pressing a few button on his visor.

“Dude, hate to be that guy, but Kirlia can’t learn that move naturally or even through updates. Therefore, what she did there was giving the finger to Arceus. And that takes balls or whatever works for her.” Rick said while trying to position his foot on the door. He was struggling a bit when placing his other foot on it.

“Alright team, suggest picking up the pace and…” Axel did not say anything and just ran on the metal gate, Rick then followed with delight, leaving Doc behind. Doc was mumbling something under his breath and walked his way up, created a series of banging sound in the process. Half way on the gate, Axel moved ahead of Catherine and summoned a single barrel RPG. The rest of the group picked up their pace after him and all whipped up their launchers as well. Doc has a three barrels and yellow coating launcher. Rick had his six barrels RPG from before and Catherine whipped out the one Rick gave to her. The moment they reached the top of the gate, they jumped down into the castle.

Behind the gate was the unfinished castle. The main building was the only thing that was nearly done. The courtyard was littered with small tents, undergoing constructions and of course, bandits. They were running around with weapons in their hands and some were climbing up ladders connected to the walls.  Those in the middle of the field were loading things onto various vehicles. Everyone inside was frozen when they saw the team making their way in. Rick yelled with enthusiasm. 'Get owned!' The team fired their weapon, sending salvos of homing rockets all over. Except for Catherine, whose rocket just ran in a straight line. Catherine and Axel propelled upward while Rick and Doc fall down. Rick's six rockets danced around and swirled back to the ones on the wall, eliminated them with massive explosions. Axel's single rockets split into ten rockets and went seeking for a random target. Doc's three rockets just locked on groups of targets on the ground. Catherine had the worst luck with her one and only rocket. it just went straight to a tent near the edge of the main building. Then the wooden thing suddenly transformed into a giant fireball that reached to the heaven, taken out a large piece of the building. She could not say anything else but exclaimed, “Holy fuck.” Should any bandit survive the team’s onslaught, he would remember not to store a large amount of fuel and explosive in the open. However, the possibility for that to happen was, slim.

Doc latched on Rick's back, summoned up and stuck two jet packs on Rick’s back while Rick charged up his fist in flame while yelling. “INFERNO…...” Doc then activated the jet packs, launched the duo downward with the speed of a rocket. Doc then held his mechanical fist upward and created a semi red sphere around himself. “NOVA” was what Rick said when his fist touched the ground. The impact sent a tsunami of flame covering the ground of the base and created a tremor that shook the entire castle. Structures bent backward and melted as the wave passed by. The attack smashed Doc and Rick’s barrier instantly. Doc's extra barrier seem to be much stronger and just barely keep him from injuries. Rick, however, had his suit taken heavily damaged and the plates on Rick’s fist melted completely. Despite that, his claws and hand were still intact.

Catherine descended slowly by short-range teleport bursts and landed on the ground seconds later. “What in the flying fuck are you guys?” Catherine asked while Doc climbed down from Rick's back and fixing the armor. He started disassembling a few pieces, threw them on the ground and summoned up replacement parts. The speed and sound he made were identical to a racecar pit crew. More bandits were coming from the main building, extremely pissed but also extremely scared. Axel landed gently while engulfed himself in a green, transparent ball. The ball dispersed when it touched the ground, allowing him to put both of his hand on the burning surface. “Absolute Barricade!” he yelled. A wall of made from huge thorn trees sprouted from the charred ground successfully divided the castle ground.

He glanced at Catherine and said, “Protect us while I recharge.”

“What?” Axel’s eyes then closed and his body collapsed on the ground, completely content with the heat. “The, the fuck?” Catherine said.

“Recharging, in short, efficient sleep cycles. Should be up in around 30 seconds.” Doc said after he had replaced a large portion of Rick’s armor.

“'You have got to be shitting me.” She said while charging up a Focus Blast.

“Suggest doing his request instead of vulgar languages.”

“Don't worry, I still got a gun to help you,” Rick said while raising his gun and gave her a thumb up.

A drill began to pierce through the plant wall and a head of a Rhydon stick in. “Hereeeeeee...Aghhhhhhhhh” was what he could say before his face were exposed to Catherine’s Focus Blast. It then followed by the sound of cursing and arguing from the other side. Soon, all that changed to the sound of chopping from axes and noise of chainsaws pounding from the other side of the wall. Catherine then gathered up orange energy in her palm. Rick helped by shooting those who were gullible enough to follow the Rhydon's example. In a few seconds, holes caused by both sides littered the thorn wall. The wall was becoming weaker and slowly tilted to the team’s side as a result.

“Andddddddddddddddddd, it is done!” Doc said in triumph.

“Al-god damn-right! Let's get back to the killing!” Rick quickly stood up and performed another Hell Raiser.

The wave of flame sent Doc aback and slightly burnt his coat. “Rick! A warning in advance would be preferable.”

“WHO THE FUCK CARE?” Rick said before running toward the wall of giant thorns and summoned a barrel of an unknown substance. He emptied the content inside the barrel by pouring it in his mouth. When the barrel was empty, he stepped back and sprayed the liquid outs with his mouth. The black substance then lit up by his beard, created a widespread wave of flames, and ignited the wall. As the fire was getting bigger, gradually consuming the plant barricade, the base of the wall began to open up with a moving cut mark. Only when the cut passed in front of Rick did it turn out to be a half-invisible Axel holding device. This time, the blade had morphed into an extremely long Katana. Axel then proceeded to the end of the wall and fully severed the barricade he had created. Catherine launched her long charged Focus blast, created an explosion that made the wall tilted to the other side. Rick and Doc summoned their RPG and sent another salvo of missiles into the burning wall. The direct hit made the entire thing began to collapse to the other side. Collected screams and the sound of distress were coming from the bandits. However, all were immediately silenced in a loud crumbling noise. Suddenly, a series of planes and helicopters decorated with the crude drawing along with spike and various scraps then flew from the mountain behind the castle, exiting the scene.

“Must be higher ranking bandits. Do they have those? Hmm. Curious. Need more info.” Doc said while trailing after the convoy. When the last helicopter disappeared out of sight, he turned to the rest of the team. “Whew. Well, it appears that we are done with the main objectives. Try to look inside for salvages, clues and eradicate the rest of the bandits.” Doc said and summoned a crystal tablet and typed something on it.

Then came a sound, a large chunk of flaming plants was tossed upward as a rocky hand emerged from the ember wall. It latched on to the still burning pieces and pulled an eleven feet Rhyperior out. He was wearing a golden painted knight armor that only covered his head and a large portion of his torso. “Thou shalt die for disturbed the king’s slumber.” Said the Pokémon as he freed himself.

“That remains to be seen.” Said Doc as he deployed a turret with two large machine guns and a rack of missiles. The turret’s laser sight the quickly locked on the Rhyperior and let it rip. A barrage of bullets and missiles was thrown at him. However, the Pokémon gigantic arms blocked all of them. After a few second, the Ry realized that the little machine was doing almost nothing to him. He let down his arm, casually took the turret attacks and gave Doc a killer’s look.

Noticed the Rhyperior’s intention, Rick charged at him with a fist dipped in flame. The Rhyperior changed his interest and intercepted Rick’s attack with his rocky fist. The sound of a tank’s shell met a mountain of granite was heard as their attack collided and locked their fists. Rick let out a loud scream while the Rhyperior used his other hand to pummel Rick. Worked through pain, Rick caught the Rhyperior’s arm before it could touch him. The Rhyperior pressed Rick down, using his advantage in size. Rick triggered a larger Hell Raiser, engulfing his upper body in flame. A surge of power went through Rick as he was steadily pushing the Rhyperior upward. The Rhyperior did not let up. He went all out and showed Rick his strength. Tons of pressure were laid on Rick. The Emboar’s armor let out the sound of malfunction from the piston, the newly assembled parts began to shatter. Outsized and no match for the Rhyperior’s power, Rick was instantly brought to his knees. The flame on his head started to get smaller, and his grip on the Rhyperiour was getting weaker. “Thou art finished.” Said he as he pushed Rick down with everything he got, trying to snap Rick spine in half. Rick closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, doing whatever he could to get back up. 

His savior came in the form of a large spinning white ball that went straight for the Rhyperior’s head. It exploded and froze a large portion of his face. “Bingo,” Doc said while holding his mechanical arm in firing position. The sudden attack successfully staggered the Rhyperior, making him released pressure on Rick. Axel summoned a long crystal crossbow with a scope attached on. It was probably made of the same blue crystal that most of the items in the Foundation are made of. He summoned a cyan blue arrow, shoved it in a gap. The weapon automatically loaded up the arrow, leaving Axel with the task of aiming and squeezing the trigger.  The arrow struck the Rhyperior’s neck while he was shaking off the ice on his face. Rick stepped back, juiced the blood out of his fist and ignited it. The ice arrows then went off into miniature explosions of sub-zero air, covering the Rhyperior’s neck and torso in ice, burning his flesh. Rick then shattered all the ice with an uppercut so powerful that it knocked the Rhyperior backward several feet. The Rhyperior could not make any other sound but screaming. Rick advanced forward with a devious grin; his hand was maintaining a fist. However, the Rhyperior caught him by surprised by blocked Rick’s oncoming attack and hooked him in the jaw. Rick was stun. The Rhyperior then used both his arm to grab and throw Rick to the ashes of the thorn wall. Rick landed face down, unconscious.

Axel continuously firing his freeze arrows while running backward. The Ryperior took most of the arrow with his hand and allowed them to go off on it. The Rhyperior dug his hands into the ground, ripped a large chunk out and hurled it at Axel. Axel proceeded to dodge it with a side roll before turning invisible. That made the Pokémon even angrier, turning his head furiously, looking for a new target and Doc’s turret was the only thing in his reach. Doc switched the mode on the turret, making its cannons shoot more rapidly at the Rhyperior. Fueled by anger and frustration as his newest prey had escaped, the Ry went berserk and charged toward the turret. With gained momentum, he destroyed the machine with one swift backhand. “There was no call for that kind of behavior,” Doc said so as he shot an ice ball at the Rhyperior, making the Pokémon covered his face with his arms. The ball flew and struck the Rhyperior’s hands. The explosion sealed the arms together like a crystal shackle. Doc was moving closer to the gate, planning to get far away before becoming the Rhyperior next target. The just broke free from the icy bond and screamed, “Die. You Cowards.” afterward.

The Rhyperior yanked a large boulder and threw it at Doc. Doc quickly raised his left arm and sped through his speech. “Redundant emergency barrier” His arm created a large red ball surrounded him, smashed the boulder into smithereens upon impact and disappeared as sudden as its arrival. Doc then noticed a Rhyperior was coming at him like a steam train. The Pokémon was showing his teeth and eyes full of hate. “Die!” he spat at Doc.

“Oh, my…” Doc exclaimed before actually turning around.

Suddenly, the Rhyperior train fell off its track after a collision with a large ball of red energy. After the loud boom, the Rhyperior tumbled and rolled in seemingly endless loops, causing a huge amount of dust to fly. A moment later, the dust settled, reviewing the Rhyperior. He lied there, motionless. The right side of his armor was completely blasted open, exposing his rocky, brown and red flesh. Underneath him was a long, thick trail of crimson blood. Didn’t wish to take any chances, Doc ran off to a safe distance near the gate but not before adding some insult to the Rhyperior injury by throwing an ice ball at the top of the Pokémon head, turning it into a cup for a spiky snow cone.  After getting to a safe place and noticed the Rhyperior was still unmoving, he yelled at Catherine. “That would have been lovely if it had happened a few minutes earlier!”

“That damn shot need a shit ton of time to charge up. And fuck you, I saved your ass.”

“How about this tactic? Subduing him with your weaker blast, and let us kill him. That is so much simpler.”

“That’s a great fucking idea, how about telling me that…”

The Rhyperior lifted his head up and took a painful breath, interrupted the short and bitter conversation of the two. He slowly stood up, let out streams of blood running from the gaping hole in his armor. He did not bother screaming or shook off Doc’s sculpture on his head but instead just taking quick and short breaths while getting up. Blood began to leak out of his neck and face. The Rhyperior got back on his feet after a full minute of struggle.  “Hey, fuck face! Right here!” Catherine said as she unloaded a shotgun clip at the Rhyperior. The shots shatter the ice on top of his head. Some of the pallets dug into his armor and face. Catherine shotgun let out a few click, hungry for another clip. The Rhyperior then moved toward her with the speed of a rock covered in tar. She shot a half charged Focus Blast at his face. However, that did not seem to faze him nor enraged him like before. He was just walking to her at the sluggish rate. His eyes were tired and were about to completely shut tight. “What's the matter? Fucking out of breath? C’mon what happened to that “Thou shall die” thing?” Catherine taunted the Rhyperior, who was still approaching her with that state. Suddenly, the Rhyperior picked up speed. Catherine charged up another Focus blast and teleported further away from the Rhyperior. Saw Catherine’s attack the Rhyperior started to speed up, slowly yet steadily. When he was half way to her he said, “I shalt take thou with...” A sniper bullet drilled into his left eye, making the Pokémon bit down the pain and silenced him. The shot did not slow him down if anything that made him went even faster. Another sniper shot and another went for his head, but they just blew the helmet off and dug in the rocks that were the Rhyperior’s eyes brows.

“It’s not working!” Catherine said. Only then, did Axel reappear beside her with the smoking sniper in hand. He fired another shot. This time nearly struck the Rhyperior’s forehead but still did not stop him. Axel put one of his fingers on the ground then said, “Okay, do what you got to do, just keep him on this track.” Axel told Catherine before she sprinted forward to the Rhyperior. Saw his opponent coming at him; the adrenaline gave the Ryperior, even more, speed. When he was at top speed, Catherine teleported out of the way. Her movement was similar to a matador in a bullfight.

Axel then whispered: “Grass knot”. Before the Rhyperior could slow down and react, he tripped and fell to the ground. A loud thud marked his landing. The Rhyperior slowly raise his head once again. All the Rhyperior saw after that was Catherine’s Focus Blast. “Bang!” She said before throwing the ball to his head. The blast shredded the rocks on top of his head and destroyed his face, leaving behind nothing brown flesh and red oozing blood around the empty eyes and the drill on his for the head. Even after that, the Rhyperior’s mouth was still moving and the veins were still pulsing.

Axel walked to him, attempted to end his misery in a rifle shot. When he was reloading, Catherine took out Anima and kneeled down. She then pressed the barrels of her gun on the eyes socket of the Rhyperior. “Something, something, Language of the Old.” Said Catherine before she pulled the trigger. The bullets went straight and exploded in his head from the inside.

Rick moved toward Axel’s side, with his hand held his jaw. “That's it? That's your badass finishing line?” Rick said while staring down at the Pokémon’s remain and spat on it.

She simply said. “Shut the fuck up. But seriously, though. What the fuck is up these guys? My own Pokémon stuck in the fucking Dark Age, we don’t speak like that.”

“So, you guy swear all the time?” Rick asked.

“No, that’s just me but still.”

“Who would have thought an uneducated scumbag would make you more sociable.”  Said Doc as he cautiously kicking the body of the Rhyperior.

“Just, shut the fuck up.”

* * *

 

Exposition time:

The digital fabricator: A piece of technology created by Genesis. It has the ability to break down certain objects into a unique form of energy, absorb them and store them in data form. When needed, it will re-construct them base on digital blueprints provided by the previous scanning.

Hell Raiser: This technique gives the user (preferably fire types) increase in durability, moment speed and fire type attacks damage for an amount of time. However, triggering it send the user in a berserk state resulted in losing self-control.

Singularity: Catherine used the move Gravity on a small object (such as a rock or a grenade). And focus the attack only on that object. This will create a black hole effect that drags enemies to the object and holds them in place. The more focus, the stronger the force. Catherine can increase the effectiveness by using Psychic to levitate the object. 

Author's notes:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is my first ever story so please forgive any possible mistake in the future and help me fix them.

Thanks again and have a pleasant day.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. They belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. The songs I reference here belong to their respective artists as well. With that out of the way, please enjoy this piece of fanfiction.

* * *

 

Anna was sitting in her office. In front of her was a levitating desk made of glass with various gadgets. These devices made a number of charts, blueprints, reports and even a photo of her and a lot of Pokémon appear within the desk itself. Anna moved some of them away, giving space for a holographic screen to rise up from the center. She snapped her finger, triggering a keyboard to materialize in front of her.

She typed and made the screen changed to an image of a Pokémon sitting behind a similar desk. He was holding in front of his face a wooden notepad with a humanlike mechanical arm. His hand had a more elegant design compare to Doc’s, which were rough and bore the look of metallic bones with machines shoved into it. The Pokémon spoke up, voice filled with authority.

“Good afternoon, Anna.”

“Good afternoon Mr. Lucious.”

“I have just received a report that you have just recruited a Kirlia named Catherine this morning. Was that correct?”

“Yes, sir. I took the liberty of recruiting her a few hours ago. However, I do believe that I have sent you the paper explaining my intention of hiring her a few weeks ago.”

“Hmmm, really? If that was the case then I truly apologize.”

“I understand sir. With the pressure of maintaining the company, and project New Genesis in motion, forgetting that piece of information was plausible.”

“I appreciate your understanding.” He paused, thinking about something. “Anna, I have nothing against you recruiting new agents for the Foundation. But, are you sure about this Pokémon? We have no personal records of her, who she had worked for, and her overall performance. Are you certain that she is Foundation material?”

“Absolutely, sir.”

“Well, care to explain?”

“She was discovered in the Outland by Doctor Voynich two weeks ago. This is a report from him at the time.” Anna activated a device near the keyboard. The voice of Doc began to play. _“April 21 st, 1200 hour. We found a potential candidate in sector 754 today. A Kirlia. An about mid or late twenty, hard to tell. Heavily injured and dehydrated, had already rescued her and taking her back to base as we, I mean,   speak. Sorry, forgot this is just a recording. A fascinating factor is that, despite her injuries, she managed to fight off a pack of about twenty Mightyena. Not only that, she did so with a single Focus blast. I can only imagine her potentials when she is in top shape.”_ The recording was terminated there. Anna continued “And that’s not all, our doctors suggested that her injuries would take her months to recover, yet she got up and was ready for her first mission just a few hours ago. This was why I hadn’t tell you about her interview. It was way off schedule.”

“I see.”

“Doctors also did a few tests and uncovered some interesting things.”

“Tell me then,” Lucious said while dragging his finger across the notepad.

“Her bones structure is, quite unique. They are incredibly dense and their chemical components make them almost as hard as iron. There were also layers and layers of healed mini-fractured in her left hand, suggesting intensive training as a child. Not only that, most of her cells can regenerate at an extremely rapid rate, only slower than the effect of R-286 healing serum.” “Mutation?”

“It could be sir. And despite having no personal records of her, I can tell what kind of Pokémon she was.”

“Yes, I have read that, she claimed herself to be a Celestian, correct?”

“Yes, sir. But that not the end of that. From her clothes and other personal belongings, it is clear that she is or rather, was an Angelic Guard, a group of elite warriors in the Celestial nation and she was an Archangel: The equivalence of a commander. In addition, inside her coat were several crests of honor, heroism, and other prestige titles sew in by golden threads. The reason why they are not shown outside was due to Celestial nation’s traditions.”

“I see.”

“She might not be high in ranking but she certainly did many feats to earn these titles. Yet, her exile is still a mystery.”

“A mystery? So there is a risk of hiring her. Nonetheless, it appears that she has what it takes.” The Pokémon put his hand in pondering position. “In the end, I trust your judgment. Don’t make me regret it. Keep a close eye on her.”

“Yes, sir.”

The Pokémon’s image then disappeared from Anna’s screen. Without giving her time to breathe, another device on her desk began to ring. She hovered her hand above it, allowed the robotic female voice to speak up.

“Ms. Anna, there is a call from Doctor Voynich.”

“Put him through.”

(The song "Do the evolution" by Pearl Jam begins to play)

Chesterization proudly presents.

A Pokémon fanfiction

**Genesis**

(Song ends)

**Chapter 4: A new home**

Axel and Catherine were inside an elevator with the smell of rusted iron and rot. Catherine still had blood and tissues stain all over her coat. The blood had begun to dry out a little, turning into sticky black and dark brown puddles, gave off the appearance of tar. She was sweating way back from the hangar bay, making the smell the more unpleasant. However, the memory of the days at the Outlands reminded her that this was nothing.

Axel also had a few spots on his jacket, visor and the device on his side. He was keeping a straight face while breathing softly with his mouth. There were footprints made of semi-dried blood on the floor, probably from the previous users, preventing him from tapping his feet. Catherine shook her head violently, not for the smell, but for the sudden drowsiness. Axel saw this and broke the silent. “Strange, this place usually has cleaning bots. Hope you don’t mind the smell.”

Catherine decided to turn to Axel and answered. “I’ve been through worse. Just a bit tired.”

“Yeah, must be one hell of a day for you huh?”

“It’s not like one day when you wake up from a near death experience only to be thrown in a clusterfuck of well, all this shit.”

“You might be surprised, but I know that feeling.”

She turned to him with doubt in her eyes. She did not know what to respond but. “Uh huh, that. So, what happen now?”

“We are going to the Decontamination booths, get ourselves clean. Then head to the Square, collect our rewards and head back to the living quarters. Sound good?”

She yawned. “If I know what those are I would say, yes. And what is the Square?”

“It’s our living ground. This base has a lot more than just a few labs and hangar bays. You will see it shortly.”

A ding played along with the robotic voice in the elevator. “You have reached the Decontamination Chambers, sorry for the insulting scent. The cleaning robots decided to revolt a few minutes ago, they are being puni*static* replaced at the moment. Don’t let this stop you from having a pleasant day.”

“Heh, that explains it.” He said.

The door opened, allowing both of them to exit. The air with the smell of burnt plastic and antiseptic went inside Catherine's nostril. Admitted that smell was somewhat of an improvement, she gagged a bit when it filled her lungs. She looked around, there were numerous booths made of glass within this place. All of which varied in sizes. Inside each of these booths, there were several scanners attached to a device on the ceiling, a box with a thunderbolt symbol under a button and a camera. Catherine also saw footprints leading from the elevator and ended at one of the booths.

“What in the fuck? We don’t have a shower head in Celestial but I’m sure as hell those things are not. And no way I’m going in there and have a shower in front of-“

Axel just walked over, opened a booth and got inside. He looked at her disturbed face while slowly reached for the button behind him. He then pressed it, stood still and closed his eyes. The machine carrying two scanners on the ceiling extended rotated around him and shot him with a barrage of green light. A colorless liquid was then sprayed on every square inch of his body. Another scanner shot him with a bright white light. Each shot cut and made the stains of blood disappear in quite literally, a flash. Axel stepped out and took his visor off.

Catherine had her mouth opened a little. She proceeded to walk backward to a booth, opened it and pressed the button with her elbow. Instead of closing her eyes, she just put on her sunglasses. The thing had some blood smears on the lenses as well. She then let the booth do its job. When the liquid began to be sprayed, she accidentally inhaled it, making her flinch and coughed in disgust. That let even more of the liquid get in her mouth, stinging a large portion of taste buds. The machine stopped and played a siren. Axel knocked on the door. “Are you alright?” He asked.

“Bitch! Does it look alright? Aw shit, it’s in my mouth. It stings.” She spat on the floor. “Shit. What the fuck is this?”

“Just shake it off and stand still. It’s almost over. Try holding your breath.”

Catherine spat out some more and slowly got up. The bitterness was still present in the corner her mouth. She resumed the original position and pressed the button once again. The bright white light zapped her, returned her coat back to its dark blue stage. She took off the glasses and stepped out of the door, still trying to get the horrible taste out.

Axel said with a smile. “We have regular showers in the living quarters. They are much more comfortable than these are. Just not as fast.”

“You guys are fucking weird.” She said and spat on the floor one last time.

“Said the swearing Celestian.”

She sighed. “Please tell me that not everyone in this base is a god damn smartass.”

Axel kept his silence. He then walked to the door at the end of the room and opened it, letting sunlight come in.

 _“Sunlight? Sunlight? But we were going down. Did we just travel to the other side of Essal? It’s impossible.”_ Then Catherine reminded herself that these Pokémon could fit a rocket launcher inside their watch, so anything goes. Beyond the door, she saw bushes, streetlights, and crystal like pavement. Axel held the door and signaled her to step out.  

(The song Empire ants by the Gorillaz begins to play.)

Catherine walked outside and immediately shielded her eyes as she looked up. A ginormous dome made of millions of LCD screens surrounded everything around her. The screens were painted with the color of an afternoon sky, completed with cloud and everything. At the far right, there was even a substitute sun displayed on them. It was brilliant and warm. Catherine looked to her left and saw Axel going down some stairs. She followed him and reached the balcony on the lower floor. She then slowly made her way to the rails on the edge to get a full view of the place.

Everything was placed in a giant hexagon valley made from layers of trees and whites buildings. The air above was occupied by a few hovering vehicles and couples of those planes that she was in earlier. In the center, which was also the lowest point of this structure was three gigantic black towers. The one in the middle with the Genesis logo was the highest of the three. Catherine felt the wind blew gently across her face. She took a deep breath. The air here was not reeked with the stench of blood or filled with chemicals. This was clear and fresh.

For the first time in days, she felt relax. The cursed decontamination booth disappeared from her mind, hell, the air even cleaned the memory of a few weeks in the Outland. Catherine then looked at the trees grown along on the balcony. Something she had almost forgot what they really looked like. Axel tapped on her shoulder.

“Welcome to the Square, the heart of the base, Catherine. You have to excuse the unremarkable name, company’s choices, not mine. I would name it Garden of Heroes or something like that.”

“Everything looks fucking amazing.”

“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet. Anyway, let’s get going. You can look at trees later on.” She lifted her hand from the rail. Axel continued. “The assignment center is right over there, so let’s catch a bus.” Axel started to run and urged Catherine to follow him. Catherine teleported to Axel’s side, caught up with him.

They got to a part of a balcony that had a chunk bitten off it. Besides the missing part laid a hologram sign that chalked up numbers and letters. A few Pokémon were standing in line in front of it. They were held back from falling by a blue crystal rail with a hologram of the words: “Watch your steps” imprinted in the air above. Without waiting for too long, a red flying bus with black windows on the sides descended and stopped at the missing part of the balcony. Its doors then stretched open and the rail disappeared, giving ways for Pokémon to get on and off. Catherine and Axel were the last to board. She spent quite some time to look down at her feet, minding the height showing in the gap between the balcony and the bus.

Upon entry, she noticed a few odd things about this bus. There was no driver inside the machine, just seats and a couple of bulletin boards showing pictures of various landscapes on Essal. The seat positions were different as well. It resembled that of a subway rather than a bus. The inside was lit up with the light provide by the outside through the windows. Catherine sat down and Axel took the seat at the opposite side. There were not a lot of Pokémon riding the bus, only a few Kadabra engineers and a small family of four Kecleon. They were wearing casual clothing, no armor, no weapons. The inside of the bus emitted a series of small beeping sound as the doors were shutting themselves. The robotic voice said: “Next stop, East Wing.” The bus separated from the balcony; it slowly turned to the right then ascended. Catherine turned around and looked through the window. The vehicle passed several buildings, all covered in glass and metal; all were spotless and the insides were rather empty. She could only see a handful of Pokémon staying in them.

The LCD sky suddenly opened a large hole, allowed a large plane with cannons and machine guns placed across its body to land at an airfield. There were several smaller domes at the other end of the Square as well. They looked like giant golf balls from Catherine’s point of view. The bus then moved closer to the center of the Square, giving Catherine a closer look at the three black buildings. At this point, Catherine eyes grew heavy and closed themselves. As her head was about to bump into the glass, Axel began to speak, waking her up.

(Song ends)

“Some pointer for the newcomer, the building over there, on the left is our living quarters and the others are Genesis’s offices. That will be the last stop for today.” Catherine did not answer, just continued looking through the window. Axel continued his tour guide. “At some point, you should check out the rest of the Square. Genesis did everything they could to make all of us live here comfortably. There is a gym/ stadium, a fully equipped shooting range, and hundreds of restaurants in this place. You can have everything you expected from a big city. Hell, we even have shopping malls down here. See those seizure-inducing building?”  He then pointed at blocks of large buildings made of colorful glasses. “The place is a gathering of all kind of luxurious items all across Essal.”

In a droopy tone, Catherine said. “I never get that. Spending money on something you wouldn’t even touch more than once.”

“It’s not really my cup of tea, either. However, to some workers and other agents, it means a lot. It’s more of a habit, a hobby. It’s healthy.”

“Pff, hobby, haha.” Catherine snickered in a drunken voice. “The world is falling apart and you motherfuckers still think of that? Funny, you risked your life, earn money just to get a little closer to a shiny piece of garbage and that’s normal.” Catherine turned to Axel, only to see a scared look from one of the Kecleon. Realized what she did, she shook her head, trying to knock herself awake. “Ugh…Fuck….Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Not judging. You are tired. We’ll just collect the reward and take a break.” Axel said.

Catherine did not answer. Instead, she just slammed the back of her head to the window and shut her eyes.

Just when she was about to catch a quick sleep and let out her first snore, the bus suddenly shifted, dropping her on the ground. The impact instantly woke her up. “Agh…What the fuck?” The bus slowed down and the robot voice said. “Reached East wing.” Axel offered her a vine to help her get up. Catherine lazily took it and backed on her feet. Axel made his way to the end of the bus.

“Let’s go. It will be over soon.”

They were dropped off at a station in front of a single story building. Nothing too remarkable about the place, it looked like any other building in here with a few Foundation logos painted on the wall. On the pavement, there was a hologram sign confirming this place to be the Assignments center. Axel ran toward it and got in first, leaving Catherine to navigate her way in a slightly staggered stage.

She was a bit angry with herself for acting like that. If this were the Outland then she would be dead by then. This environment must have spoiled her, she thought. Things here just slowed down and it made she feel safe somehow. She shook her head. Both the wake herself up and reminding her the danger of a false sense of security.

“Here.” Axel’s voice startled her. He was offering her a can of energy drink, the same brand as Rick’s. “It worked the first time didn’t it?”  Catherine just snatched the can and drank it. This time, she finished it in less than a minute. The drink took effect and sent Catherine back up. But she was not as focus as the first time she used it. “Feeling better?” He asked.

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Don’t be, because you owned me 10 creds for that.”

“You son of a…”Catherine was about to threw the can at him but remembered the request she had made to him. She instead used her Psychic move to toss it to a trashcan.

Axel winked, “See? I got the message. Okay, let get our money and get home.”

“Best thing I heard in days.”

They stepped into the station. It had a few Foundation agents inside as well. All of them just gave both Catherine and Axel a quick glance and then resumed to their businesses. Some linger on Catherine but soon looked away as they walked deeper into the station. The first thing Catherine saw was three large cubicles that took half of the space. All three had a large sheet of glass and various mails slots in front. A Ducklett ran the first cubicle. His head wore a bowl frame with wires connected to the ceiling. He was sitting or rather floating on a blob of water held stasis on a device. Surrounding him were mountains of machines. All of which were too far for him to reach. The ceiling above him then opened up three trap doors and dropped down humanlike robotic arms. The arms extended and interacted with the machine around him. Next to his cubical was a Kangaskhan with throwing grenades in her pouch. Dozens of guns were hanged on the walls behind her, to her left and right. A Lucario with a huge shotgun was talking to her. The Pokémon was quite loudmouthed, as everyone in the station could hear him bargaining with her, something about retaking a weapon. And the final cubicle was owned by a Meowth. The Pokémon just have lockers surrounding him, with a few pieces of gemstone placed on his desk. A Weavile wearing an oversized metal gauntlet on her left arm gave something to him through the mail slot and then left shortly. Near the exit were a slot machine and a vending machine that just stay there for some reason. Catherine understood the vending machine but the slot machine just seemed out of place.

Standing at the opposite of the three cubicles was a Lopunny in battle armor and an eyeless Sableye. He had a metal blindfold with a pattern of a pair of eyes. Both were locking their sight at the hologram bulletin board on the wall. The thing was filled with various pictures, figures and words that were too small for Catherine to read. The pictures changed from places to faces of Pokémon. Some of them had scars and wounds on their faces and the words “WANTED” drawn in capital letters above their head. The Lopunny was probably the only one that still looked at Catherine from time to time. She seemed to whisper something to the Sableye when Catherine turned her back. Beside the bulletin board were a set of leather couches and table with a box of crystal tablets placed on it. A Gallade with a right mechanical arm held a tablet with the word News imprinted on the back while sitting comfortably on the couch.

Axel then walked to the Ducklett and Catherine followed. The flying type was busy with an Electivire carrying a huge sword on his back. The sword was almost as long as his height. The broad blade split into two parts from the middle. One part was a conventional blade and the other had saw teeth on the edge. The hilt had a red gemstone and a V symbol on it. The Ducklett sitting behind the glass did not look too thrill went talking to him. The wire connected the Ducklett and the ceiling was shaking as he waved his wings and robot arms at the same time.

“God damn it! One last time you brain dead ingrate. The mission only gives you a full payment, WHEN, WHEN, the target is alive and in one piece. A quarter of his body doesn’t count. I don’t care if the piece was still breathing when you pick it up. He is DEAD now. So pay your fine and get off my feathers.”

The Electivire reached back and picked up the sword.

“Ah ah ah. I don’t think so.” The Ducklett summoned two turrets from the ceiling above the Electivire and closed up every door in the station. Metallic shutters took over the windows and orange barriers appeared around the turrets. The turrets then beamed their laser sights at the Electivire’s head. The panel in front of the Ducklett opened up, revealing a red button.

“Tough guy huh? May I remind you of the high doses of neurotoxin in those bullets? I don’t how much it hurt, but it is said to give painful death. Remember those Pokémon you have killed? You don’t want to join them in hell. You are going to get your daily dose of whoop-ass from them and on top of other religious creature that I have no knowledge of. You think you fast enough? This button should change that. Forgetting the accessory the company gave you?” The Electivire backed off. His hand left the sword in its place. The doors opened and the turrets retracted. “Now, what did we learn today?”

“Follow the mission requirements to the words.”

“That’s right. Also, a little recommendation for you. Next time, choose missions that don’t require you to keep things alive. You obviously suck at it. Hope we won’t have this kind of trouble in the future. Okay? Good. Next!”

Axel then stepped up as the Electivire walked away.

“Ah, isn’t it Doc’s little boy. What you want, kid?”

“Just payment and nothing else.”

“Card please.” A mail slot opened in front. Axel summoned a red with black stripe card from his device, put that in the slot and let it fall on a conveyer belt. The conveyer belt then loaded it backward allowing a robot arm to pluck it and laid it in a scanner. A pair of robot arm went down from the ceiling and typed on the computer. A large blue rectangle appeared on the glass. Catherine could not see anything, but the Ducklett obviously saw more than that. “Busy week huh, kid?”

“The usual.”

“You should live your life. Get drunk or something. And who is behind you?”

“She is Mark’s replacement.”

“Uh huh, I’ll get a blank ready then.” Another hand pulled down and activated a fabricator machine behind the Ducklett. The Ducklett then opened a different mail slot and returned the card to Axel through it. :Alright, have a nice day kid. New blood, come.” Catherine then approached the glass. “State your name and number.”

“Catherine Kobb. 364”

“Cob as in C. O. B.,” the Ducklett asked as he commanded the hands to type with his mind.

“No K. O. B. B.”

“Alright.” He typed a few more, read the information and turned off the screen.

“Kay. Here a little load down.” He looked behind him, commanded an arm to pick up a newly fabricated card and handed it to Catherine. “That’s your credit card, keep it well. Pretty self-explanatory, that is where you store your money and use it to pay for things. Lose it and we both got to suffer an ass load of paperwork. Please don’t lose the god damn thing.”

“It won’t happen.” She said while examining the card. 

“Good. My job here is to give you the rewards after each mission and assignments .You can get your rewards from the comfort of your living quarters but that will take away 50% of the rewards itself.” Catherine squinted her eyes when she heard that. “Unfair, I don’t care. The company pays you 8000 creds for guarding a door, so better not be a lazy whiny asshole about it. The bulletin board is over there, it is where you choose your assignments. The diff between them and missions? You can do assignments on your own and don’t always require a full team. You can work with other members if you like. How to split the money is up to you. The assignments are easy, random stuff that I couldn’t care less, like capturing new species or something. You can register your assignments with me or from your living quarter with some additional charges. The same goes for missions. However, the team must be okay with missions, though. Drop an assignment or a mission will be forced to pay a fee. The numbers depend on the situation. Like, you agree to rescue someone but dropped half way, that crap gonna cost, a lot. And you are going to be branded a major asshole so think before taking them, not mentioning flak from the company.” He took a deep breath. “Holy shit, that was a lot. Got them all?”

Catherine nodded.

“A little something about this place too. Pick up jewelry, gems stone or physical money? Give them to Meowth and he exchanges them for credits. I believe he does antiques as well. Unused but good weapons that you picked up? You give those to the female next door for credits. She gives the best deals so take it whenever you can. Near the exit is a slot machine to unwind. Try your luck maybe you can score a 5* weapon. Play at your own risk. And no, I won’t give you a loan, ever. Get to the bank for that. Don’t recommend getting a loan there either, it’ll screw you right up your ass. Have anything else you wish to ask?”

Catherine scratched the back of her head. “Eh, yes.”

“Then just read this, I ain’t got all day.” He let out a book out of the tray. “Do some reading, it’s good for you.”

“Next.” The Ducklett shouted despite no one was behind Catherine.

She then returned to Axel, who was exchanging a conversation with the Gallade. The Lucario then made a hitchhiking gesture to the Gallade. The Pokémon said something to Axel and then left with the Lucario. Axel then turned around and asked. “Done? Okay, let get back.”

“Axel, what is 5* weapons?”

“Oh, forgot to tell you that. Here we have classes for our weapons. Your basic shotgun is a 1* class, which is the worst and cheapest. Rick’s bazooka is 3* I think. And 5* is the best, for now, and also the most expensive. If you thinking about gambling then I just want to say, don’t. The chance of winning 1 in 14000000. You have a higher possibility of getting hit by a falling LCD screen in the dome and live after the impact.”

“Sound like a challenge. I’ll take it.”

“It just a game of chance” he sighed “don’t you want to get to the living quarters and rest? You were bumping your head on the bus.”

“The energy drink helped. I think I’ll get back later, just want to test this out. Oh, and how do I send you the money back? I hate owning Pokémon.”

“Just make sure you have more than 10 creds when you are done with the slot machine. Do whatever you want. I’m not going to give you money when you go broke.”

Catherine just made her way to the slot machine. The multi-color lights arranged into the word: “Jackpot” lit up when the machine noticed her present. A small slot was opened up with the line “Insert card here”. She put her newly obtain card inside it and pulled down the lever. This triggered the machine own robotic voice. “Gambling with this sum of credits is not recommended. Only play when you really need to vent. Genesis wishes you to reconsider.”

 _“Perfect,”_ She thought before pulling down the lever again. The reels started spinning and a jolly jingle played along. The music died down when the reels stopped one by one, the machine let out an up most annoying sound when there’s nothing match up. Catherine pulled one more and was awarded the same sound afterward. Little did she know, that was the sound she had to hear all afternoon, along with her groan of dismay. After an hour or so, the machine let out a beep when it sucked the money dry.

“What the fuck? I just play for a few times and I’m out?”

“We don’t endorse excessive gambling so it quite costly for each pull. But you’ve been doing that for a while now, just stop.” Axel said while sitting on the couch in the lounge, reading a tablet connected to the newsstand. Catherine then reclaimed her card and went for the second booth to meet up with Kangaskhan with haste.

The Pokémon behind it slowly shook her head. “Honey, I know what you are going to do. Don’t do it. You need your weapons, just keep them for now and you can earn one of your own. It takes time, but it much more rewarding than whatever you are doing there. I know putting that machine was a bad idea.”

“Speak for yourself, my incomes just went up.” The Meowth spoke from the other side.

Catherine was about to tell her to keep quiet and give her the credit. But thinking carefully about her words, Catherine just said. “Okay, I’ll just trade this in and I’ll leave.” Catherine summoned and gave her Rick’s RPG.

“Oh well. Here you go.” The Kangaskhan pumped her card with credit and cautiously gave it back to Catherine. Catherine instantly took it and got back to the machine.

“Catherine, Rick is not going to be thrill about that,” Axel said.

“It’s a gift, so I can do what the hell I want. Just one more. If it failed, I’ll fucking stop. If it wins I’ll fucking stop. I just want to go through with this. Try every fucking possibility. Besides, I still got like.” She put the card inside. “One shot left. What the hell, lady?” She looked back at the second cubicle.

“That’s not going to work. Catherine. Just save those credits and get back.”

Catherine pulled the lever. The reel kept spinning and a symbol of Genesis showed up in the first reel and soon another followed. Catherine's eyes opened wide, waiting for the final symbol to land. Just when another Genesis logo landed, the machine shut itself off.

“What the fuck?” Catherine kicked the machine. Before she could do anything else, a party horn and the sound of music came up. The machine’s top opened up, fabricated some devices that shot confetti all over the place. Axel dropped the tablet and stood up.

“Holy shit, what happened?’ Catherine said”

“You won, hon.” The Kagaskhan cheered behind the counter.

Catherine threw her arm up and yelled in celebrate. “Fuck yeah! How about that, green jackass? How you like me now, bitch, Wooo.”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Axel muttered.

The side of the machine opened. The thing then fabricated a triple barrels shotgun with the imprint of a Houndoom on each barrel. It was painted in red and black and has a shiny coating to it. A small card attached on the weapon. Catherine used her Psychic to made the weapon threw itself to her. She tried to pull the trigger but the thing would not fire.

“Hey, no firing in here, take that to the shooting range.” The Ducklett yelled from his counter. He then connected a microphone. “And what hell are you looking at? It’s just dumb luck. All of you, return to your duties.” He addressed the other agents in the station, who were looking at Catherine newly acquired prize.

“I suppose you want to test it out?” Axel asked

“Fuck yeah, I do.” She pumped the shotgun.

“Good, because everyone in here wants that, held it tight. Let’s get you to the shooting range, quick.”

 

A few hours before

Anna pressed a button on her keyboard. The moving image of Doc took up a quarter of her screen afterward. He was in a workshop, besides him laid various pieces of robots. One of which got a wrench impale through. Doc still had that PR smile on his face and some oils and green fluid added on as well.

“Good afternoon, Doctor.”

“Afternoon Anna. Sorry for not responding sooner, I was busy with other assignments.”

“It’s okay. So, how was today mission?”

“It was fine. There were a few problems but nothing too major. The bandit’s base has been destroyed, most of them dead, some of them got away but not too many.”

“Don’t worry about them, we have already got them with our satellites. How about Catherine?”

“Good. The new member is certainly fitted for the job. Her attitude needs some work, though. But that didn’t get too much in the way. Her power and ability are certainly interesting. But I need to see her in action more along with some data to get a full grasp of her potentials.”

“Yes, and I have just spoken to Mr. Lucious regarding her recruitment.”

“Did he show any sign of disapproval?”

“No, however, he instructed me to keep a close eye on her. Can I pass this task on to you?”

“Certainly NOT.” Doc gave Anna a straight answer and slammed his metal fist against the table, shaking his image. “A problem.” He added with a grin on his face.

“Doctor.” Anna showed slight irritation and relief.

“Hehehehe”

“Since you are here, I have a special mission to offer you, are you interested?”

“Oh, I’m all ear.”

“It’s about the bandits that got away from you. Our satellites have tracked them to their last location, the 268 forest, but that’s not the main thing. Shortly after their arrival, something at the heart of the forest made a spike appeared in our energy readers.”

“What source of energy?”

“Similar to those of human technologies.”

“NO, I will not accept. I will not accept the fact a bunch of good-for-nothing-violent costume geeks could get their hand on human tech. It must be an accident. It must be.”

“We don’t know for sure. We only know that the spike is strong and has lasted for a long period of time.”

“Could be a cluster of tech? Like that one, we found last summer. That must have been a defensive system that runs on backup energy sources that triggered the readers.”

“Yes, Doctor. That is the most likely possibility. The bandit may have uncovered it but I don’t think they could crack the codes protecting it, ever. So, the tech and the security system may still be intact.”

“Should not take any chances, should kill them.”

“We have already sent a team to take care of the bandits and secure the area. However, we believe that only you can open it. You have experience with this tech after all. So we want and your team to investigate the content inside it.”

“Hmm, not sure. Everyone is still rested up from today mission. Myself, still busy. Not sure if we can do it now. Unless, I could abort fixing all these revolting robots and do it with some other agents.”

“That would not be needed, tomorrow would be just fine. The team we sent will help us secure and monitor the place. If anything goes up, I will personally inform you.”

“Thank you. Is there anything else you wish to tell me before I get back to work?”

“No, Doctor. Good luck on tomorrow mission.”

“Oh, yes. The possibilities of new techs and new discovery, so excited.”

 

*Bang, Bang, Bang*

Catherine and Axel were in a large room within the shooting range. The near empty room made every sound Catherine’s new gun created into a barrage of echo. Catherine was standing behind a crystal fence. In the distance were a few paper target boards. Each time she pulled the trigger, a group of three white orbs launched out of the shotgun, went straight to the paper targets and effortlessly went through them, leaving behind 3 neatly holes. Slowly formed rings of ice could be seen around the holes as well. Axel was sitting nearby; next to him was a control panel.

“The weapon card said you could change the element of your bullets by using the buttons near the grip. There are apparently three elements to use, fire, ice, and electric, hence the name Cerberus. Hmm, I know that’s company orders and all, but their choices in names are just questionable.” Axel said while holding a tablet connected to a card.

Catherine pressed the button, the lights on the gun turned from white to red. She pulled the trigger once more, and the gun launched three fire orbs from its barrel. The projectiles exploded when came to contact, ignited her targets instantly. Axel pressed a button on the tablet, summoned new targets for her.

“This thing is fucking awesome.”

“Yeah, but it comes with a price. This is a Genesis shotgun. That’s mean it used special elemental clips for ammo. Those are pretty expensive, so save them.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Catherine switched the gun element to its final, electric. However, it did not have a much different effect. The orb just rather charred the board.

“Hey,” Catherine whispered.

“Huh, bored already?”

She rested the gun on her shoulder. “No, but, I don’t believe that this big ass building only has these. Is there something else? Something that makes this testing more challenging, fun and a bit more gruesome.”

Axel stood up and said. “There is, but that going to cost.”

“Stop that, I got the message. Come on, I know what I said. We are a team so just give me something to test my stuff, help me get better. It’s for the good of the team right?”

“Even if you are Doc, I still not going to do that for free.”

“God damn it, I’ll pay you later. You really need to pull that stick out of your ass.”

“Only when you pull yours. Okay, follow me.” Catherine shot a glare at him.

Axel then took Catherine to a large and completely empty room. Everything inside was painted white.

“What the fuck?” Catherine said as she moved closer to the center of the room.

“Catherine don’t go in too far. There’s a glass.”

“What?” Catherine said before bumped into an invisible wall.

Axel walked to the corner of the room. Stepped his foot on a button and made a panel rise up from the floor. The buttons on said panel changed color, helping Axel distinguish and control them.

“Eh? What the hell is this?”

“The combat simulator. You will understand why it is so damn expensive, latter.”

Axel then swiped his card. The panel lit up with excitement. A stasis pod then rose from the floor. The pod was about the same size as the one Catherine was in earlier that day. “Ok, this is going to get strange. Get in the pod.” He said and pushed a button, making the pod open wide.

“What? What is that got anything to do with testing guns?”

“Just trust- Oh wait. I don’t know, I have already thrown 4000 credits away. So please get in this pod. Remember to make sure that you put the gun in your inventory.”

“Oh god, are you serious?  Okay, I’m going. But tell me what the hell it is.”

“This whole room is the combat simulator. The pod will scan everything in both your body and the fabricator, down to your cells and inventory. Then the computer will create a virtual version of yourself based on them. Your stamina, strength, power, weapons, everything, they took these number and put them together into a virtual you. That you will be projected inside that glass, for everyone can see. The pod then connects your mind with the virtual version of you in that glass case, creating a combat simulation afterward.  Where you can make enemy kill you and you won’t die. Or you could kill an enemy over and over again to test your weapons.”

“Sounds weird.”

“Trust me, it’s fun.” Axel shrugged.

Catherine returned the shotgun to her inventory then slowly stepped inside the pod. Axel closed it with a push of a button. A microphone inside the pod transferred Axel’s words. “Close your eyes.” Catherine did just that. She could feel the sweat at the back of her neck when the machine locked itself. She breathed slowly, trying to calm herself down. “Here we go,” Axel said.

A flash of light appeared and a strange hum came from the machine. She felt like spiraling in an invisible vortex when the hum became more rapid. Then came a sound and she was dropped back on her feet.

Axel said. “Okay, you are in. You can open your eyes now.”

Catherine did as she was told. She was still in the room and was standing in the center of it. She saw Axel beyond the glass, near the panel with the pod was behind him. She look at her arms, she could still feel them and move them, but their color was off. They were nearly see-through. There was a certain disconnection between her and them as if they did not belong to her.

“Catherine, can you hear me?” His voice was close, almost in her head.

“Yeah, and I can see you too.”

Axel turned his head to the left and waved once. She did not wave back. “Good. Then it is functioning properly. Try moving around. Feel anything weird, tell me.”

And Catherine did. Her steps were lights. She teleport-jumped and landed, experiencing reduced effect of gravity. “So this is the whole simulation thing? It’s not that much different.”

“Oh, you will see. All right, the readings are good. Ready for some digitized enemy?”

“Sure, whatever the fuck that is.” Catherine summoned her new weapon while Axel was typing something on the keyboard.  An Image of a Lucario wearing bulletproof vest was slowly constructed from a mix of numbers and colors. He looked like the Pokémon on the Genesis promotional panel. “Wow, it looks so, real.”

Axel said. “In where you are standing, it is. Try and see for yourself.”

Catherine struck its face. She got a feeling of punching a slug as her fist met the Pokémon snout. The digitized head whiplashed, making the Pokémon taking a few steps back. It then immediately returned to its position, showing no sign of injury.

“Holy shit.”

“Come on, you can do better than that. Give him everything you got.”

Catherine gave it a beat down. She started by a hook to the jaw, followed by a jab to the stomach, lowering the Pokémon’s head. She grabbed its head and knee struck him. She could hear the cracking sound of bone in that one. Catherine teleported backward, raised her foot and kicked the Pokémon’s dome, knocking him on the ground. Like a twisted puppet, the Pokémon stood up, repositioned his head and returned to his pose.

“Okay, that is fucking scary.”

Catherine fabricated the new shotgun, pumped it and shoot the incinerate orbs at the hollow enemy. The orbs came in contact and ignited him. The Pokémon combusted got on the ground, flailing and rolling. When the fire stopped, it left nothing behind but a charred figure. What remain then turned into digital dust and reassembled back into the Lucario.

“You can do anything you want with it. You can beat it until the end of time and it will never mind. It can’t feel pain but still have basic respond, though, try hitting it with electric.”

Catherine obliged and shot the Pokémon in the head. The electric coated the Pokémon’s head, giving it spasm like a sideway limbo dance. Catherine changed the element while waiting for it to stand up. Just when the Pokémon stood up, she fired the freeze shot, partially frozen him. She fired another and another until he was frozen solid. Catherine then charged purple psychic power to her left fist and shattered him completely with a full force punch. Crystalized pieces of the Pokémon fell to the ground with satisfying “clink” sound.

“You’re right. This is fun.”

“Try warming up with some moves. See how it goes.”

When the pieces pulled themselves into the Lucario, Catherine grabbed it by the collar, channeled a large amount of psychic power into her hand and tossed it upward. She drew Anima and shot the Pokémon in the stomach, sending him upward. She then drew Lady Death and shot him rapidly, slowly pushing him upward. When gained enough height, Catherine then teleported up in the air and kicked the Pokémon upward. She then teleported under him and gave him a barrage of kick giving him and her more height. She then half charged a Focus Blast and shot the Pokémon to the ceiling. After the Pokémon hit the ceiling and fell down. Catherine teleported above him and attached herself to the ceiling. Then she fired her flame orbs from the shotgun, dealing some burn damage on the Pokémon. She then formed her hand into a claw grip and charged a Focus Blast. Just when the Pokémon was about to hit the ground, she pulled him to her with her psychic. She dived down and launched herself toward the half burnt body. “Focus slam!” She threw the orb down on the Lucario’s back, sending the Pokémon down with a violent explosion. Through a series of teleportation, she got back on the ground.

“Oh, that’s nice.”

“You haven’t seen nothing yet. How about this?” Axel typed and summoned up a group of four identical Lucario holding assault rifles. “Now, let make them do something huh?”

The Pokémon stopped standing still and began to fire at Catherine. She teleported away, not before punching one in the gut. She gained some distance with her teleportation and then summoned a grenade. “Singularity.” She threw the grenade, maintaining a purple cloud on her hand and let the vortex sucked all the Lucario in. She then watched as they blew up to smithereens.

“Who taught you that?”

“Huh? Which one?”

“Gravity. And that Singularity.”

“Myself.” She said before breaking a Lucario’s neck and used his body as a meat shield.

“Really?”

“Not quite, though.” She shot at the group with Lady Death while holding on to the meat shield. “My mother helped out with Gravity. But Singularity is all me.”

“How did you and your mom do that? Here, we can’t even update it to a Pokémon.”

“I’m not sure, Mind over matter, no limit, all that good stuff. I can learn many moves that I’m not supposed to. Just give me the books and I get right on that. She thinks the ability runs in the family or something. But strangely enough, she couldn’t even do it.”

“Uh huh, could be a genetic gap.”

She stuck a grenade on the Pokémon’s back and kicked it to the group. “Don’t know. Your skills aren’t too bad. Did you get that update thing for those?” The digitized body then exploded.

He chuckled. “No, the update just gives knowledge and not much else, without practice, they are next to nothing. For example, your reloads is still pretty clumsy.”

“Humph.” She teleported up in the air and stomped on a Pokémon. “So, how long have you been holding the sword?”

“20 years, give or take one or two.”

“Shit, that must be harsh.” She said while stepping on a Lucario gut. Catherine began to pant harder. Strange, considering all this was in her head.

“Not so much if you are raised in a place like this.”

“Yeah. With all this technology and the Square, even the Councils would be jealous. So you were trained as a kid to be an assassin?”

“Well, yes. I was rescued from a slave trade. Genesis took me in and run a few medical test. Doctors said I have a disease that preventing me from evolving. But in return, I got super reflexes, the ability to change my time perception and strength. So Doc asked me if I want to join and train,” He tilted his head. “I agreed.”

Catherine let out an “Oh” for having the answers to several questions at the back of her head. She then continued talking while repeatedly shooting a Lucario in the chest. “So in some regard, you 20 years ago was going through something similar to me, right now?”

“Yes. I admit, it was hard to adapt at first but I got used to it after a while. You would be no different.”

“Well, there goes my excuse to bitch and moan.” She started to pant. “But, hah, why didn’t you just go to an orphanage? Maybe, you can get a better life. Wait, nah, what I am saying? This place is got to be better. Yeah, right call.”

“Heh, you are the first to say that? Most just stop at the: _“Why didn’t you pick the orphanage?”_ one.”

“You are not a charity case, nobody here is, so why does that? As much as I hate to admit it, here looks so much better than the surface.”

“So, I’m assuming that you’re enjoying the place?”

“Yeah, it isn’t too bad, a tad confusing but nice. Fresh air and all that. And that makes me really want to punch you in the face.” Catherine then proceeded to hold a Lucario head with both her hand and pressed her thumbs in the eyes sockets. Mimicking Rick’s head crush.

Axel confused a bit but caught on. “I understand, but you really didn’t want to join in. I just supported that.”

“If you were doing it for my own well-being, you would have stopped me, not sending me to the Outland.”

“What? I respected your freedom and don’t want you to be lost and confused in this place. It not just going to the base, but it’s like going to a different time. It like living in somewhere 1000 years before and suddenly yanked to present day. Besides, I was going to send you to a nice settlement outside of Genesis’s range. A small town with nice Pokémon that could use some help.”

“Like I’m gonna buy that.” She let out a grunt and drop kicked another Lucario.

“I’m going to take you there some other time. I promise.”

“Agh, fuck it. It doesn’t matter, it’s in the past. The present is now I killing stuff with a 1 in 1400000 chance of obtaining a gun and I’m rubbing it in your face with your money. Future with moral dilemmas, I let you handle them. Just get me some targets.”

“Coming right up.” Axel summoned more enemy. A new enemy in the field caught Catherine by surprise. One succeeded in shooting her in the arm. It did not hurt much, just like a tip of a needle. “I guess you don’t have to worry too much about with that kind of attitude.”

“Suck on this.” Said, Catherine, as she controlled a singularity in her left hand and shot a focus blast with her right. The orb was small yet its impact with the singularity triggered an explosion. “So, hah, hah, hey, stop with the targets,” her panting interrupted “for now.”

“Sure.” Axel turned the digitized Pokémon into statues.

“Thanks, woo, damn. This simulation does scale down to everything.”

“Hungry?”

“Yeah, Okay, how the fuck how do you know that?”

“I can hear everything from here.” Axel looked behind him and heard the sound of Catherine stomach grumbling. ”Want to grab something to eat before heading back?”

“Yeah, I can go for a bite. But what about your credits.”

“You spent 10000 credits today. I think I could do the same. Just for today.  Money means nothing if you don’t use them, right?”

Twenty minutes later, both were standing at the entrance of the food court located within the shopping center. Catherine did not know if calling it a food court was enough as the place took up two floors of the building. There definitely was a change in temperature. The place is much warmer than the rest of the Square. A mixture of scents and smoke was in the air. It was also the opposite of other building Catherine seen so far, it was packed. There were doctors, engineers, workers, children, just as every kind of Pokémon were in the place. Axel mentioned them on their way here; he said that most of the workers and agents had family and young children. As a result, Genesis allowed all of them to live here. The dim yellow lights in here made Catherine stomach growled some more. Catherine took notice of a hotdog stand and snack near the entrance. There was an old Typhlosion behind it. He was maintaining a long line of young Pokémon. He blew a puff of fire at the hotdog, earning the cheering of the children.

“With a place that can create weapons out of thin air, why can’t you do so with food? Why this whole ordeal? Can you just place a machine somewhere and let Pokémon have them?”

“Food taste horrible if fabricated. All of us would rather be living to just surviving. When you look at it, we are living a hole with an artificial sun. It would be even more of a downer if we get our food from a machine. Besides, Mr. Lucious wants to create a sense of community in here so he added a few jobs like that for some of the retired workers who wishes to contribute. Let them do something helpful. Not the best for the company but the best for everyone.”

Noticed the smile on the children. Catherine said. “The Lucious guy sounds pretty cool.”

“For the most parts. Yes.” Said him as he flicked the tracking device on the base of his tail. “So what do you want to eat? Here we have everything.”

“Ice cream.”

“Eh, excuse me.”

“You heard me. I want motherfucking ice cream. My mother mentioned it over and over, praising it. She said it the fucking best thing in the world. She didn’t say fucking but you catch my draft. I want that.”

Axel laughed. “Catherine, we save those for dessert. Maybe just a few berry soup before that?”

“No, I want it now. Eating dinner when the sun is still up would feel weird.”

“Yeah, Mercy cooks today anyway so, sure.”

Catherine and Axel decided to have their ice cream near the entrance of a shopping mall. Catherine sat on the edge of a fountain while Axel stood. His were two green scoops and hers was white. Axel was slowly eating his while Catherine had just bite down a large chunk.

“So, does it meet your expectation?”

“Yeah, pretty cool but not the best.”

“Probably vanilla is not your flavor.” He licked his ice cream. “So, your mom had traveled beyond Celestial? That’s new. I thought Celestians were all forbidden to leave.”

“My uncle is a merchant, so he got permission to leave Celestial to collect imports. My mother followed him, I guess. She did so when she was young. Said she liked to discover more of this world, obviously didn’t like Celestial very much. She always had cool stories and left all kind of loot behind for me.”

“And somehow your mom is okay with you swearing like an outsider?”

“No. Well, when she get older and have me, she uh, stayed in Celestial afterward. When I’m an Angelic Guard, she requested the Councils to have me travel with my uncle from time to time, to protect his wares and all that. And he let me talk with all kind of Pokémon during his trips, even the craziest and nastiest kind of merchants.”

“Smugglers?”

“To some extent yes. I blame the bastard of an uncle for my mouth ever since. But without him, I wouldn’t know much about the outside. Well, my mom helps too. She even taught me astrophysics. I don’t know how the fuck did she learn that but I glad she did.” Catherine began to trail off. Her ice cream started to melt.

 _“Oh, you are reusing the lie made by the Councils. How creative of you.”_ Said the malevolent voice in her head.

Axel had one question in his head, but he did not want to ask her. Not for the time being, instead, he decided to change the subject. “So that how you created the Singularity attack, using the premise behind black holes.”

“Yup. That is my proud creation. Nothing is more awesome than rubbed it to the Councils’ faces. We don't need such knowledge, they said. Well, I can’t hear you over the sound of the panic bandits I’m crushing.”

“You are not doing too well with the Councils, aren’t you?”

“More like were. Yeah, we hardly get along. They always give me the stink eyes for some reason. Probably because of my mouth. Again, thanks a lot, uncle. But they are nice enough to give me shiny crest when I do something great. Want to show you, but yeah, a lot of Pokémon here so no.”

“Nah, I believe you. Why are you still an Archangel then? Your skills should be up in higher.”

“Heh, how did.” She was about to ask.

“I read. I ran through a book or two about the Celestial nation.”

“Okay, well, uh, let just say, I don’t like responsibility and drama. I like being an Archangel, you can control a small group of Angels but have like zero to no responsibility. Just have to deal with lots bullshit. You told them to: “back the fuck off and let me deal with this”. Keep them alive, earn medals but doesn’t earn rank. And if I almost got promoted, I do some stupid shit to get myself demote. And sadly, the exile is the stupidest shit I have ever done.”

“Then you are going to love this job. You got no promotions, no crests but a ton of trouble if you screw something up. See the Electivire?”

“Whatever.” Catherine finished her ice cream. “I’ll deal with them later.”

“Great, we have another Rick.”

“No need to worry about me. This place is my second chance, not fucking it up right now. Just don’t expect me to take things as serious as you.”

“Only time will tell.”

“Hey, out of order question,” Catherine asked as she jumped from the fountain. “Who is Mercy?”

“She is our nurse. You meet her soon enough.”

The LCD then changed their appearance into the twilight sky as he finished his sentence. “Well, it getting dark, let’s just get to the living quarters.”

“Sure. Show the way.”

It took them roughly a few minutes on a bus to get straight to the center of the Square. Yet, to reach their living quarters it took them well over 15 minutes. The place got several security checkpoints; Catherine just followed and did whatever Axel told in order not to cause any trouble during the rest of the day. Both passed by a row of corridors and rooms then stopped at one particular door.

The door in front of the team’s living quarter slid open, revealing a large room that stretched wide, and far. There were five separate doors placed along the length of the rooms and one at the end of it. There were a long family couch and a curve TV and or the miscellaneous things on the opposite of the doors.  Close to the main door was an Audino wearing a fitting pink and white uniform with a red cross painted on the shoulder.

She was setting up a large round table with five plates on them. The plates got a miniature dome each, preserving the food like a work of art. All dishes were placed neatly on them. One has a bowl of smooth, green soup decorated with a small piece of herb. One was extremely big with a lot of steaks covered in what Catherine could presume to be hot sauce. And there was one plate with nothing but vials carrying red, green and dark blue liquid. The other two were too far for Catherine to see clearly what they had. The Audino turned around, said in a bubbly voice. “Welcome home. Just in time for dinner.”

“Nurse Mercy.” Axel greeted.

“Good evening Axel, and the new member. A pleasure to be your acquaintance.  I am Diana Mercy, the nurse of the team.”

“Catherine Kobb.” She said along with a slight bow.

“Made yourself at home Miss Kobb. For an obvious reason, I have made something special for you today. I hope you enjoy it.”

“But, you’re a nurse.” Catherine tilted her head in confusion.

“My duty is making sure everyone is in top shape both physically and mentally for all the missions ahead. Cooking is just one way for me to do my job. Thanks to new technology, everyone is getting injured less and less. I feel a bit guilty for not be able to contribute more than just patch up someone that rarely got hurt. Therefore, I cook with the knowledge I learned in my maiden years. It is quite beneficial. It is far cheaper than eating out.  I can make sure that everyone is healthy and the team got some place to come back to. Oh, I’m terribly sorry. This old woman just keeps rambling on and on. You must be starving.”

Catherine just bowed slightly while maintaining a straight face. It somehow took her some effort to actually say. “Not at all.”

“Then settle in, the others will be joining us shortly.” She said while making her way to the table.

Just as the three of them sat down, the main door swung open, revealing an oil covered Doc. “Sorry, I’m late. I got to fix a few glitches in the program of the cleaning bots.” Doc barged in. “Oh, you’re back, good, just need to wait for Rick. I want to discuss a new mission during dinner. Excuse me for the oil. Will decontaminate me shortly.” He changed his course to the kitchen and turned on the sink. The sound of running water brought some surprise to Catherine as she was expecting something flashy like the decontamination thing.

The door swung opened once more. This time was Rick. The Emboar was wearing a tee shirt with the number 56 on it. “Whoo, I’m back.” Rick stepped in and announced the room.

“What’s the scores?” Doc asked as he stepped out of the kitchen, and waved his arms to shake off the remaining water.

“One, three, baby.” The mother friggin Arcadian are in final.

Mercy said. “Eh, congrats. Now contain your excitement. It is time for dinner.”

The Emboar just went for the table and sit down. Doc got to his respected seat as well.

“Since everyone’s here, have a nice meal and allow me,” Rick said lifted opened the dome, picked his knife and fork and started to cut the meat.

Catherine then looked at her plate. There are five different things on it. She did not sure what they were. One was chunky red, one was black beans, she had no idea what the purple soup was, the white rice and yellow egg were what she could recognize. Mercy did not look at her, but she could feel that the Audino was expecting her reaction. So Catherine quietly took a bite at the chunky red. It was crunchy and a bit spicy. Just the way she liked it. She did not say anything and continued eating at a steady pace.

Doc tapped his vials together gather everyone’s attention. “So, I have just got an offer from Anna. Our satellites had followed the bandits that escape this afternoon and we discovered something interesting. A spike in energy readers appeared shortly after their arrival to the forest. The energy that is similar to those of the human being technology. Very optimistic, this could be another cluster of tech.”

“Human being? You mean, omni-being? I thought they are legends. Tall tales of stuff that you can’t explain.” Catherine asked.

Axel said. “Legend or not, there’s no denying that their tech is legendary. Without them and Doc’s reverse engineering, there would be no digital fabricators.”

“Dude, without them, everything in the base wouldn’t be here,” Rick said.

“Don’t care. Have enough in my head already.” Catherine said before taking a bite out of the egg.

“So what does Anna want us to do?” Axel said.

“She wants, of course, me breaking the security code and we investigate the site. Clearing possible threats, and clearing way for the salvage team. Securing the site if possible. An A rank mission. Just for my expertise on breaking human passcodes.”

“Isn’t that a bit soon for Catherine, Doc? Today was just her first?”

“Bah, easy mission. There're not many threats regarding human tech anyway. You got me taking care of those. What do you say, Catherine?”

“As long as you don’t make me do machine, go ahead.” Catherine began to finish her plate. One could see a smile in the corner of the Audino’s mouth.

“So, everyone in?” Doc asked.

“Yeah, whatever you say, my friend,” Rick said.

“You already know my answer,” Axel said and stepped out of the table with an empty bowl. He then headed for the sink.

“So it’s settled. We shall begin first thing tomorrow.”

Rick and Catherine then left the table and did the same thing as Axel, leaving doc behind with his full vials.

Axel then led Catherine to one of the seven doors connected to the main room. Inside was a plain bed with white sheets and pillows, a fridge, couples bedside desks and a large window that showed not the outside of the building but a picture of the galaxy. “This is your very own living quarter. It has a bed right there. You can change it to some fancy stuff in the future if you have enough credits. The same go for the fridge. Beside it is the requesting machine, want to buy something but don’t feel like walking, just use it. There will be a small fee, though. The bathroom is there, got tubs and everything. Laundry? Just throws it in the mini decontamination machine. Works the same. Fill up the room with memory and things that you like. That window there is a TV and it can function as a computer too. And that is all. Enjoy.”

“Hey, Axel.”

“Yes.”

“That’s enough. Thanks again.”

“We are teammates, it is expected, but, you’re welcome. Thank you for your cooperation. See you tomorrow, now try to rest.”

He left and closed the door behind him. The door then automatically locked itself with a click. Catherine set up a passcode and then jumped on the bed. The thing was reeking with the smell of plastic. It was not as soft as the sand she had been sleeping on but that fact alone was good enough. She rolled in her bed and closed her eyes.

All the questions and doubts returned. She kept playing back memories in her head then creating her own simulations for days after. Asking _“what if”_ , scenarios after scenarios. _“What if he was right?”_ ; _“What would happen if I had taken his offer_ ”; _“What if they find it out?”_ After a while, she bored of the ideas, realizing that was pointless and tried to get some shut-eye. The lack of sound bothered and calmed her at the same time. It was hard to say, but she did miss the howling of the wind and wildlife in the Outland. At the same time, she was glad that she did not have to wake up in mid-sleep to look for dangers anymore.

 _Did she?_ She stepped out of the bed, headed to the bathroom, and turned on the light, somehow expecting a feral to pounce at her. However, there was nothing. Just a tub, showerhead, a sink and a weird machine lied beside it. She quickly opened the medicine cabinet and received nothing but pills put in alphabetical order. She closed it, get out of the bathroom and back to bed. It took her quite some time to actually fall as sleep.

* * *

 

Author's notes:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is my first ever story so please forgive any possible mistake in the future and help me fix them.

Thanks again and have a pleasant day.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. They belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. The songs I reference here belong to their respective artists as well. With that out of the way, please enjoy this piece of fanfiction.

* * *

 

Catherine was lying on a pile of white stone rubble. She could felt the sharp edges from the broken pieces leaving an impression on her back. She looked forward, reaching her hand out for something to grab on. However, in front of her were just a veil of complete darkness and a voice. “I should have done this, years ago!” It said. Before she could react, a large object struck her in the chest. It went through her flesh and crushed a piece of her rib. Yet, it miraculously missed her heart. The pain was there, but the feeling was off. It felt disconnected somehow, but it was still real enough to make her wish to scream.

Yet she could not scream. She could not even make so much of a whimper. Her mouth was sealed from an unknown source. The object dug deeper and deeper and then went right through her. The tip of it made a “crack” when it broke something behind her, probably the piece of marble she was laying on. The cold metallic object stayed there, letting her blood warmed up its surface. Her heart touched it in every panic beat. The object then pulled out from her body. She could see the outline of a beautifully decorated sword drawn with her own blood. The blade was raised once more and quickly dropped down.

“Hey, Catherine, wake up.” The voice of Rick instantly made the rubbles and the blade disappeared. She quickly opened her eyes and realized she was sitting on a seat of the Killian plane (a piece of trivia that the pilot named Rave had told her with pride a few hours back). The doorway at the side had already been opened, revealing an afternoon glow and few tall trees outside. Inside, Axel was cleaning parts of his sniper rifle on one of the seats. He did give a quick glance at her but resumed to his business shortly. Doc was nowhere to be found and Rick was looking at her with some genuine concern in his eyes. He was waving his armored arm in front of her. Catherine then quickly stood up, feeling droplets of sweat running on the back of her clothes and on her forehead.

“Are you okay? You don’t look so good.” Rick asked before setting up the hydraulics on his left side.

“I’m fine,” Catherine said and rubbed the sweat off her face with the sleeve of her coat.

“Are you sure? You were shaking pretty hard back there.” Axel said before setting the trigger back in place.

“Yeah, want something to drink?” Rick said.

“I said I’m fine, didn’t I,” Catherine said, sounded a bit defensive. “How long have I been asleep?”

“Not for long,” Axel said before putting the barrel back to the base.

Rick said. “Yeah, sorry, didn’t mean to give you a rude awaken but, you know, mission. Doc can’t wait much longer.”

“Emboar, there is no need. Live up to your figure. You are a fucking mass of rage, match that.” Catherine pointed her finger at him and summoned her Cerberus shotgun. When the weapon was in her hand, she loaded an elemental clip into it. Rick did not say much else, just a quick shake of his head and a mysterious grin. As if that attitude reminded him of someone he knew.

“Come on everyone. Discoveries are ahead of us. Weapon of mass destruction, historical archives, and tons of technological advancements await. No time for slacking off.” Doc yelling came from the outside, urging everyone out.

“Alright, let do this!” Rick yelled enthusiastically and hopped out of the plane. Axel finished assemble his rifle and soon joining Rick, leaving Catherine with nothing to do but following them.

(The song "Do the evolution" by Pearl Jam begins to play)

Chesterization proudly presents.

A Pokémon fanfiction

**Genesis**

(Song ends)

**Chapter 5: Under the hole**

The team made their way through the 268 forest. The walk had become a welcoming change of pace for Catherine. The dry and hot air in the Outland had turned damp and relatively cool. Surrounding her were thick layers of foliage and rustling sounds made by Doc’s eager mechanical feet. Despite the more comfortable atmosphere, Catherine was still somewhat uneasy. Her movement was just short steps with a rhythm that matched her every breath. She looked around with a shotgun in hand and finger on the trigger guard. Keeping her eye peeled for any sign feral Pokémon. Rick might be the slowest member of the group, but the one that was falling behind was Catherine. Axel, on the other hand, was way ahead. He had transformed the blade on his device to a chained whip with a hook at the end.  He swung this at the tree branches and pulled him toward them, using this as his mean of traveling through the forest. The rest were going on foot, following a trail made from chopped down trees and deep tires tracks.

After she had lost sign of Axel and detected no trace of wildlife, Catherine sped up and walked beside Rick.

“Hey,” Catherine said, making Rick slow down a little.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Rick turned to the side, facing her.

“Just curious about where we are heading to.”

“Well, a human facility on top of a bandit camp, pretty straight forward,” Rick said and stroke out his index finger, pointing at Doc’s direction.

“Of course, I got that, but. If whatever you guys said were true, then all this time, Genesis most advanced and successful techs were coming from the human? The thing that spits objects out of thin air, the base, and everything?”

Rick shrugged, “No. Well, not quite, though. We did have our fair share of creativity. But after discovering that human can do much better. Most of our engineers just accept their defeat and put the human tech to good use, like real mons. A lot of Pokémon think we have just scratched the surface of human tech potentials.”

Doc interrupted them while kept moving forward. “Well, that a pretty harsh statement. I say we have cut rather deep into a large chunk of human techs potentials. A suitable metaphor should be something like a rather serious flesh wound. Don’t underestimate that kind of wound, could easily get you amputated. And Rick, do us a favor. Don’t demean our engineers.”

“Yeah, sorry about that, man,” Rick said, his hand made a salute gesture.

“So how the fuck did you guys find these out anyway?” Catherine said.

Rick scratched the back of his head, trying to remember words from the hologram located in Genesis hall of records. “Um, it started years ago. A few years after the wars had stopped, Genesis sponsored an archeology group. And what do you know, they dug up the first ever human archive with basic stuff like history and tech. The blasts in the wars probably had made things easier to be dug up. Anyway, the boss saw the potentials, took full advantage of it and created the foundations for most of our current technologies with the knowledge found in that archive. The archeology group probably got a big raise afterward because then they just, disappeared; probably for an extended vacation in Asuna.”

Catherine just lets a low. “Uh huh.” Confirming an assumption that the Genesis corp. was not always represented by the happy underground city she saw the day before. Axel words echoed back. _“For the most part,”_ It said.

Rick continued. “After that, we Foundation agents were ordered to do some similar expeditions, discovered various facilities that used to belong to the human, like this one. Some hold tech and weaponry, some hold information archives. Those are the things that let us know about the human and what they did to be the once dominant species on Essal. Their tech seems to be the answer for everything. And I mean every friggin problems. Energy, soil, grass, I don’t know, it’s out there.”

“You know, for discovering something so groundbreaking but would not have any credits attached to whatsoever, you guys seem happy about doing it.”

“Well, we got paid a lot for our effort. And who said we got no credits. Our current boss is a nice guy”

 _“For the most part”_ flashed in her mind.

“He did have a hall of record just for us.’

“I guess it makes that fair.” Catherine shrugged.

“Ah, we are close,” Doc said before kneeling down beside their first dead body of the day. It was a Meinfoo bandits, ravaged by bullets holes on his torso. Axel’s voice then echoed through the forest. “Over here.” The team picked up the pace, moving toward the source of his voice. They came across more and more bodies as they did so. Some of whom were wearing the same type of armor as those the team had fought the day before. There was a Machoke got a clean round hole stapled on his abdomen and chest. A Bisharp got a three-foot long crystal liked harpoon in his rib blade gaps, which pierced right through him. Fifty more feet or so, a camp laid in a large clearing was seen.

The camp was dead silent. It consisted of a number of wooden sheds; none of which was in one piece. The ones that were still standing have at least a dozen bullet holes on them. A few were half-burned to the ground; the remaining ashes lay beside the mangled corpses of the bandits. The bandits did put up a fight, though. All their bodies were holding some type of ballistic weapons and they were clutching to their respective weapons tightly. A Scrafty appeared to be reloading before getting his chest chewed up by something.  

The team stepped in deeper and saw an abnormally huge mutated feral Manetric. If it could stand on its hind legs then biting off Rick’s face would not be a problem. Its electric hair or fur was a mess and was stained with blood. Catherine raised her shotgun and took aim but Axel immediately intervened, pointed at the Foundation logo on its collar. The Pokémon appeared to be a tamed as it saw the team coming and remain unhostile. The Pokémon then walked toward them, while sniffing for something. Rick then whistles a strange tune, making the Pokémon quickly ran to him and looked up at him, like a pet begged for a treat.

Rick asked casually before petting the Pokémon on the head with his armor-free hand. “Hey there, little fella. Where is Craig?” The spiky hair shocked Rick as he rubbed his hand against it. It did not seem to bother Rick as he just laughed and pulled his hand back. The Pokémon then jerked its head to a shed on the left and let out a stretched out bark. The sound signaled a Pokémon to step out from the barely-standing shed. He was a Monferno wearing a faded gray adventurer khaki outfit completed with a leather fedora. On his back were a large harpoon gun and a few orb like grenades. “Oh, you came, Doc. How is it going, mate?” He said

“Well, cybernetics is still holding up. Nanobots still making sure my fresh not decaying anytime soon and myself is relatively excited.” Doc said while approaching the Monferno, offering him a handshake with his real arm.

“A short “I’m fine” would be okay, mate.” The Monferno said and shook Doc’s hand.

“So what is the situation?” Doc asked the Monferno.

“Everything is under control, see these chumps?” He pointed at the bandits remains. “Didn’t stand a chance.”

“Good, What about the bandit planes that made it here?”

“We managed to capture most of them before taking off in an attempted escape. The landing pads are a few meters away from here. Two were shot down, but sadly one little dag ran off. It was dark, so, really hard to poon it.”

“How unfortunate, so what exactly in the planes then?”

“Civilized folks. Mostly refugees and immigrants. And also a few bandits that claimed to be the servants of his majesty. A nutty bunch I tell you.”

Doc put his mechanical finger on his lip, “So Pokémon trafficking, huh? Forced labor? Yes, possible, someone has to build the castles for them. But why escape with them? Still need data. What are the survivor status?”

“Exhausted but alive. They were sent back to their nations a few hours back.”

“Good. Don’t know how that is better for them, but good. And have you done any investigation on the strange signal?”

“Yes, Celeste found out that it was coming from a flipping hole in the ground west of here.”

“A hole. Well, should be a possibility. Remained hidden for so long. Need to be dug up. How deep?”

“You got to see it to know, mate. Survivors said they had been digging this thing for the bandits for months. They were forced to do this every single day.”

“That deep? And it seems like they do that on purpose. Is there any oil drills or rare gemstone near the dig site?”

“No mate, just a bloody hole and lot of dirt.”

“Then what is the point of them digging it?”

“I don’t bloody know mate. Kill them all already. Doubt any of them wuss would answer it either way.”

“What exactly is down the hole?”

“Well, from the look of things it could be a steel wall of some kind. Heavily protected from all sides. Got a control panel on it, probably for the door. A few bandits tried to get in with that. One was even dumb enough to poke it with a stick. Figured that what triggered the defense system. All got zapped pretty hard in the end. Their bodies are all there, along with a few refugee workers that they had dumped down. The bodies are decaying rather fast so you will need a bloody gas mask for it, mate.”

“Will do. Did the bandit made any attempt to reclaim this position?”

“No, mate. They just ran and never return.” Craig pointed in random directions. “I had set up a few traps and sensors around the forest in case they come back. Nothing has bitten so far.”

“Excellent.” Doc handling him a chip card with his metal hand. “Thank you, Craig, for securing the sight. Here a little extra for you and your team effort.”

“Thanks, mate, appreciate it.” The Monferno took the chip and patted Doc on the shoulder. “And have fun with the hole. No innuendo joke there.”

“Oh, I will do, will do.”

The bark also made another Pokémon get out from a different shed. She was a Sylveon with a pink nurse outfit, similar to Mercy’s but with extra armor plating on the shoulders. She had a single shot grenade launcher on her back. There were some syringes with pink or green liquid and a ton of grenades strapped on her clothes. She was standing upright on her hind legs, making her a bit taller than Axel. Her front paws were replaced with mechanical hands; all painted in pink and got stickers all over them. The Pokémon waved at Catherine, who was confused at first. However, afterward she realized that the Sylveon’s wave was meant for Axel (who gladly waved back with a smile), she got off their line of sight and went the other way around the camp. The Sylveon approached Axel and spoke with an enthusiastic female voice, bombarded him with questions after questions regarding the weather and his well-being. He answered them all while remaining pleasant look on his face. Catherine did not need too much explanation for that. Only after fifteen questions or so did the Sylveon look at Catherine, who was turning her back at both of them.

“Axel, who is that?”

“That’s Catherine, Mark’s replacement.”

“Oh, is she the one that you guy rescued a few weeks back?”

“Yup, that’s her.”

“Wow, recovered that quickly? And she is on your team now?”

“It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? And I’ve just said that she is Mark’s permanent replacement.”

“Well, good for her.” The Sylveon said as one of the ribbons on her head began to twist itself.

“Hey, is something wrong?”

‘Huh? Nothing.’ The Sylveon waved her arm and kept a smile on her face.

“Are you sure?” He pointed her ribbons.

She then straightened it and said. “Okay, maybe a bit jealous. I worked for three years just to be in your team and well, you know.” She pointed at Craig, who was laughing heartily with Doc. “and now, this.” Her ribbon pointed in Catherine direction.

“Well, trust me. I tried to convince her not to, but she is quite stubborn. And my team had the spot left open for a while. Rick has been itching for a mission quite some time.” He reassured her with a slight hug. “Worry not, it wouldn’t change anything between us. And come on, you don’t expect me to”

 “I know, I trust you. Just a bit jealous that I didn’t get the spot in your team that’s all.”

“Well, I blame the Foundation system. But we still doing assignments together are we not.”

“Yeah, but just…”

“Come on, we went through this. It’s nothing to be upset over. Cheer up.” He patted her gently on the shoulder, she returned him with a grin. “Anyhow, she is from Celestial nation. Kind of new to the world, don’t use that as a mean to harass her, okay?”

“I’m not! Who do you think I am?”

Catherine did not care much about their conversation. She focused more on finding a small rock to sit down and clean the golden rings on her boots. The little walk had let a few speck of dirt and dried mud on them. She just rubbed her sleeve against them and used her reflection as a signal to stop. Satisfied, she walked to the perimeter of the camp and noticed the sound of something coming her way. It was rapid and fast, a clear thumping noise stuck on repeat. Catherine quickly took a knee with the shotgun ready.

What next were a rustle and a small gust of wind went in her face. She then saw a large shadow jumped over her. A loud thud emitted from the ground behind her as the figure touched the ground. “Oh shit!” She exclaimed before turning back and saw it.

The figure was a regular form Keldeo with few pieces of armor added to his chest. And of course, they have the Foundation logo imprinted on them. His most noticeable accessories were a pair of miniguns on his sides. Riding on his back was a Chespin, whose color was a bit off. All the green was replaced by a dark, metallic gray. The Chespin’s back were littered with spike and an armor-plated tail. The Pokémon had a happy, childish smile on his face. Unlike his Keldeo friend, who bore a rather irritated look.

“C’mon that’s hardly top speed.” The Chespin said.

“Kid, I’m not a miracle worker and the forest isn’t my kind of place to run.” The Keldeo said.

“No, you just got lazy. C’mon, I need my innocent back after killing those guys.” The Chespin said as he kept putting his paw on the Keldeo’s back.

“What the fuck?” Catherine muttered to herself as she could not say much else afterward. What else could say when witnessing two nearly impossible things just happened in front of her? A Keldeo and Chespin with the voice of a 13 years old kid are Foundation agents. Impossible, as one is a Pokémon so rare that only in the deepest parts of Essal did you can find a feral one, this one is clearly civilized. The other is a child. Catherine can only guess that he was the one responsible for the death of that one Machoke with the enormous hole.

The Keldeo heard Catherine and turned around, noticed her shotgun was pointing at him. “Whoa, there, easy. All Foundation members here. No need to raise arms, okay?” He said while putting up an awkward smile.

Before the Keldeo could say anything else, Rick stepped in. “Hey, my little Ponyta, how ya doing?”

The Keldeo closed his eyes, repressed mild anger. “I told you guys not to call me that.”

The Chespin said. “C’mon, everyone thinks it’s cute. It’s better than my nickname, that’s for sure.”

The Keldeo said. “Don’t encourage him, Bryan.”

Rick paid no mind to that and changed the topic. “So you guys met Catherine, huh? She is our newest addition. Common, dudes, say hi.”

The Chespin jumped down and raised his paw. ‘Nice to meet you, Catherine, I’m Bryan. But everyone calls me Casheel, stupid name, I know.”

“And I’m Leon, sorry for startling you. It is a pleasure to be your acquaintances.” He raised his front hoof, expected Catherine to take it.

Catherine put the gun on the back of her waist, refused to take his offer. “Pleasure to meet you both. And now, let consider this conversation has never taken place.” She said.

“What?” Bryan said, eyes wide opened.

Both Rick and Leon looked at themselves and said. “Agree.”

From afar, Craig shouted. “Okay we are no longer needed here, let’s go.” His words were followed by Doc. “It time for some investigation. A Large quantity of human tech are waiting for us and probably an unforeseen danger.” Craig then handled Doc a small remote. “For the electric traps and sensors network. Any non-Foundation intruder that get through the shock, it will let you know. Bleed your bloody ears right out.”

“I wouldn’t mind as all. Mine have already been removed, but thank you for the warning.”

Bryan and Leon headed out to the trail. Celeste waved Axel goodbye and ran along with Craig and the rest.

Doc and the team them moved to the other side of the camp. The bandits were nice enough to construct a sign out of wood which indicated the location of “The hole”. The handwriting was so bad that Catherine could feel her stomach cramped up inside. She wished that she had killed these bandits herself. Passed through a few bushes and then they saw it, the hole that Craig was talking about. He was not kidding. It was truly something that needed to be seen. It was at least 60 meters wide and was so deep that even sunlight could not shine all the way to the bottom. Running along the rim was a series of loose stairs made from planks of wood. A few pieces appeared to have fallen off after twenty steps or so. The whole thing seemed to be dug up in a rush as there was a load of excess dirt that piled up around the hole, building up into uneven small hills. The team approached it and looked down into the abyss. Not a single lantern or light was down there.

“Allow me,” Doc said and dropped a small machine down the hole. It sprung wings on the side and hovered downward slowly and steadily. After a few meters, it shot 4 attachable lights at the wall around it, lighting up a portion of the hole. The team watched eagerly, following each meter down. It took the machine over 20 minutes to touch the bottom.

Rick let out a whistle and said. “Damn, son.”

Axel rubbed his chin and said. ‘This doesn’t look like an oiling hole or serving any other kind of function. What did the bandits wish to accomplish when they dug this? And how did this happen to lead to something like human tech?”

“That’s something I have been asking for a while. But doesn’t matter now. Wouldn’t change the result if standing still and don’t collect data. See you down there.” Doc said before jumped straight down. When he was half way through, he activated the jet engines on his feet and slowly descended. He remembered Craig’s words and proceed to push a button on his metal arm, summoned a small collar device. Doc put it around his neck, allowing the device to generate a transparent force field covering his head. “I should have replaced my lung for a reactor months ago.” He told himself. When his feet touched the bottom, he looked around and yelled upward.

“There a lot of dead bodies down here; these could break your fall. Feel free to dive down. Hehe, just joking, these won’t save you. You will definitely break your neck and other bones if you try. Anyhow, the air is filled with contaminants, so it is recommended to put on a gas mask in advance.”

Axel handed Catherine a similar collar device and before jumping down. Just when gravity began to take him, he surrounded himself with and orange ball and glided down. Catherine put on the gas mask. She stood still and watched the force field take whole of the space in front of her face. She teleporting herself on the first plank and went down the hole from there. There were a few pieces came loose on her way, but her teleportation was fast enough to bypass that. Rick took several short breaths and put on his gas mask. He looked down and saw Catherine and Axel had almost made it down at the bottom. “Alright, let’s go.” He said then curled himself into a somewhat round ball and performed a Rollout. The ball started spinning, rattled the ground around it, whipped up dust. When the speed was at its highest, he moved forward and touched the first blank. He gained momentum after every plank and reaching the bottom. Rick was maintaining a steady pace and rolled along the stairs of the hole. He crushed the planks, piece by piece in his track, destroyed any chance for the team to walk up conventionally. When he was nearly at the bottom, he uncurled himself and quickly jumped out. What followed him was a downpour of wooden planks. Before he could land, Catherine put her hand in the air, channeled her psychic power and suspended most of the pieces in a dark purple coating. When Rick was back on his feet, a few planks hit him and the team. Catherine pointed her shotgun upward.

“Hey, Emboar, can you do something about that?”

Rick summoned an oversized triple barreled Gatling gun. It took the effort of both his arm to lift the weapon up. He turned the safety off then reduced all the planks into splinters in a hold of the trigger.

“That’s more like it.” She said before squeezing her shotgun trigger.

“Wait, Catherine,” Axel said

She sent three red orbs upward, which ate up the floating splinters instantly. What happened next was a quick combustion, turning the team view of the outside of the hole into a view at the gateway to hell. “Oh fuck,” Catherine said as the flame began to expand. The ball of flame dived down at the team. “Barrier” Catherine shouted while putting her hands together. A sheet of thin purple glass shut the space above the team tight, successfully blocked the raging fire. Doc summoned large cannon with two-battery core beside the grip. He then shot a ring of invisible shockwave at the flame. Breaking Catherine barrier and sending the fire upward, outside of the hole. The end result was a fireball that reached over the highest tree in the forest.

“Yeah, that will definitely not cause any unnecessary attention whatsoever,” Rick said instances before the blue sky was in his vision again.

Doc said. “That is very rational coming from you, Rick. But now how do we supposed to go up?”

“Dude, how do you expect me to go down that fast? The stair won’t hold me for long. And no way can I drop down without making you feeling something fierce on your back and lower body in the next morning.”

“Quit whining like bitches. With the stairs gone, I can gravity everyone up quicker. Just don’t expect any marathon, though.”

Doc shrugged and said “Fair enough. Apology on my part.”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry.” He then changed the subject. “So is that the thing?” Rick said while pointing at the tall gray wall behind Doc.

The wall was made from a sheet of thick metal and there were traces of char all over it, probably caused by explosions set off by the bandits. Speaking of whom, a few of them were seen near the doorway on the wall. All of them were burnt to crisp. The only way to distinguish them and the refugees were the scrap metal clothes on their backs. On a panel near the door was a crude and blacken metal stick stuck inside. Enough proof for Craig earlier remark. Catherine saw dead bodies of various Pokémon covered by a few planks of wood lying at the bottom of this hole. They were all mangled and twisted. A sickish shade of black and green on their skin made Catherine turned away. She did not know the stench _“Thanks fuck”_ since the machine on her neck gave her nothing to smell but her own breath, which was filled with the revenant of that day breakfast. A luxury that she had not had in weeks. It had been egg and something they called cell-bacon.

Doc pulled the black stick out and opened up the panel. With a push of a button on his arm, Doc morphed his fingers into tentacles with tendrils on them. The fingers then punched through the dials and got into the panel. He twisted his hand, let various humming sound from both his arm and the panel. The dials on the panel were blinking at a near blinding speed. Doc’s head twitched slightly when the humming on the door turned into a violent siren. A plate on the door opened up, revealing two cannons.

“Eh, dude,” Rick said and dropped the expired ammo pack on his Gatling gun down on the ground.

“Nothing to worry about, because I, got, this, under control.” He snapped his flesh finger and everything stopped. The front door let out a beep while the cannon retracted back inside the wall. The door began to shake and bulged out; let loose a lot of black dirt. Doc pulled out his finger and reached for the door. He grabbed the lit with a clank from his metallic arm and slid the door open. Clouds of white vapor were pouring out from the inside with an unsettling hiss. Doc let out a sigh of relief. “Whew, this facility got some serious defense matrix. Must have something important inside. Are you excited yet?” The team just gave a unison shrug of their shoulders. “Well, I truly appreciate your enthusiasm.”

Everyone made their way in, though Rick had some trouble squeezed his way through the door. Behind the impenetrable wall made from the unknown alloy, was a small darkroom. The gas mask collars automatically turned on the lights mounted on them, giving the team a clearer view of the room. Catherine had a look. The first things she saw with the limited light were wooden desks and a pile of an unknown object, all had fallen apart.

“So, this is it?” Catherine asked.

“It looks that way. Are you sure about this, dude? Look like my gramma house.” Rick said.

“I expect it to be a lot flashier,” Axel said before turning on his visor and looked around. “Doc, there’s a power box behind the wall on your right. See what happen.”

Doc followed his suggestion and punched open the wall with his mechanical arm. It broke away easily as if made out of crackers. He then lit up the room in blue when he summoned a small robot with wheels. He threw the contraption inside the crude hole and controlled it with a hologram screen on his arm.  After a few flick and tap of his finger, the lights mounted on the ceiling lit up everything inside. However, that just brought in more disappointment, especially to Doc. It was still just a mall box-liked room. There were a few computers, the obsolete kind, with box head screens and analog keyboards. At a corner was a large multi-color pile of garbage, or at least what Catherine thought was garbage. Besides those, there were just desks, chairs, and a large amount of paperwork put in order on various shelves. All were black with age. Catherine tried to pick one up and it fell into dust.

“Again, this is it?” She asked. “Where the fuck is the advancement?”

Doc walked around the place. “No, it cannot be. If this is all there is then why bother with the reinforced door and the defense matrix? And the energy. All the energy didn’t go up here and just the door. There got to be more.”

Axel changed his visor’s color into red and looked down. His eyes opened wide in realization. “There something down under. Rick, get the drill.” Axel said

“Whatever you say, my friend.” Rick summoned up a large drill with the size compared to his Gatling gun. He put what presumably to be a power core into its back, pulled a lever on it and the drill head began to spin. “Everybody, clear.” He held on to the handles and raised the drill as high as he could. Then he forcefully stabbed it at the floor. The tips of the drill broke through the floor tiles effortlessly and shot up crushed pieces of them, but Rick then experienced powerful recoil and a loud clank. The reacted force pushed the drill upward, nearly made the Emboar feel over. He tightened the muscles around his body, figuring a way to keep the spinning drill from falling on him. After a grunt of pain and some real struggle, he managed to keep the drill under control and away from his face. He turned off the machine and drop it on the floor. He then held his back with his left arm. “Aw, my back! The hell, man?” He said before clenched his teeth, allowing him to bit the pain from straining his back.

“Yes, I knew it. There’s more to this.” Doc said. Excitement hinted in his voice. “Everybody clear out and pardon me.” He said and summoned the large cannon from before and shot a large ring of air at the hole Rick had just made. With tighter space, the weird sound the cannon emitted from before turned an unpleasant screech. That screech was apparently strong enough to trip the floor in front of him completely. What left behind was a large metal sheet with a white dust blanket and debris. Doc jumped on it, flew some of the dust up and brushed some with his lab coat. He dusted away the remaining junk and found a circuit board. He jabbed his arm into it, seemingly without thinking. The machine let out the sound of rejection, making his arm shot out electric sparks. Doc twisted his arm while shooting his version of insults at it. They were just technical jumbo and not a single swear. Some brought out humor rather than intimidation. Nevertheless, to the machine, those words seem to hurt. The machine fought back with more sparks and rejecting sound played on a higher pitch. Doc raised his arm and slammed into the machine, forcing it to obey. And it gave in. The floor under Doc’s feet opened up, almost dropped Doc down. Probably the last comeback the panel could give Doc. Doc jumped to the side and saw a large panel slowly elevated from down under. Doc stepped on it and tinkered with a few controls.

“I understand that they tried to hide this and all, but the reinforced door was a death giveaway. No wonder why these guys extinct.” Axel said.

Doc said. “Well, don’t say that. We don’t even know how they became extinct yet. Get on, the panel is fixed. It should be running now.”

The team stepped on the panel, waited for Doc to punch a button to make it went down. The speed of the thing was compared to that of a tired old forklift. And the sound it made was spot on too. After over 30 minutes, they reached their destination-A large room that had been already lit up with white lights. It was still a bit dimly lit and some of the lights were either flickering or out of commission. But what would one want more in an ancient hole in the ground? There were two doorways, one at the end of the room and one to the right. Both seemed to be locked tight, indicated by the red lights on top of them. There were various monitors and machines inside the room. All were smashed into pieces. At the center was a large green crystal-liked column. There were various computers with blank green holo-screens and hologram keyboard attached to it. Surrounding it were human shaped dark spots with pieces of near decomposed synthetic material clothing. Doc raised his mechanical arm and said. “All in favor of having Catherine gravity us up, please say: “aye”.” And the words Doc expected from his teammates were amplified by the metal surrounding.

“Whatever. Better pay me extra for my fucking effort.” Catherine said before standing up from the panel floor and straightened out her coat.

Everyone set foot inside. The dark spots on the floor were there first thing the team approached. Upon closer inspection, some miniature red and white ball could be seen on their clothes as well. “So, I guess these are the human?” Catherine said, pointing at the spots.

Axel said “Seem like it, they were all arranged in a well-placed manner, too,”

Rick said. “Execution?”

“Not quite sure. Over ten thousand years, not enough data. Could be toxic gas or mass suicide, never know. Go around, see if you find anything. I’ll look into this information hub, maybe there’s something.” Doc said while approaching the column. He proceeded to extend the tendrils from his arm and plugged them into one of the machines on the column. With a snap of his finger, a hologram screen popped up from his forearm, giving him space to drag his finger on. While waiting for the result, Axel switched on his visor and scanned the room. With his visor, everything in the room became a network of wires and tubes hidden behind the walls. Both were rather focused on what they were doing, leaving Catherine and Rick to just wandering around. After seeing nothing of interest, Catherine tried to make small talks with Rick.

“So what is the hell are these guys?”

“Who? Doc, Axel or the human?”

“The human, of course, smart ass. Although I might try the others later on.”

“Dude, I don’t know. Not a historian or anything. As much as I was told from others, they said the human lived with us like ten thousand years ago. Worked with us or used us the same way we use the ferals. See those little balls on their clothes.” Rick pointed his oversized finger.

“Yeah. What about them?”

“Those are digital storage for organic lives. Organic lives like our ancestors.”

“Gross. And let me guess, like the digital fabricators, it breaks things into sparkling dust and put it back.”

“Yeah, that’s the idea, but with us.”

“I kinda heard those from legends. Keeping us in orbs, bound our soul and all that poetic bullshit. The Councilor also mentioned that the human had guided us Celestians at some point. Acknowledging our potentials for greatness. They showed us how to grow food and stuff. But all stories about them just stopped after a period of time. Do you know what the fuck happened to them then?”

“We are not so sure about that. Records of the human have never mentioned it as well. It likes in one day they just, poof, disappeared.” He grabbed his hands tightly and then let go, simulated a child’s description of a magical explosion.

“Disappeared? How the fuck can a race disappear?”

“I don’t know. Many stuck up scientists claimed it was the wars that the human created. But I call that’s bull crap right there. If that was war then someone got to be alive. The victors, no one win and then kill themselves. And if that was a total annihilation caused by the human wars then none of us would have been here. Would be just Dunspare and Geodude. You know, the dudes that hide underground like a bunch of sissies.

Scientists always draw a comparison to us and the human just to get the “War is bad” message across the board. And there’s also the meteorite theory but, well, again, we wouldn’t be here. Doc and most Genesis’s scientists are still working on it. In the end, I don’t question those. The dudes and ladies are dead, what different would it make? I say just focus on what they left for us, make the best of them.”

“Humm.” Catherine put a hand on her chin and shot a look of disbelief at the Emboar in front of her. Disbelief not because of the story of the human but disbelief for seeing this Emboar be more than the Arcadians Catherine had faced over the years. With most Arcadians, who were dull and just unpleasant to talk to, she had a feeling of being looked down upon whenever she had to speak with them for her uncle’s sake. All were going on about how great their nation was, how great they were for being born there. And the opposite happened, as a result, she looked down at every one of them. She was deciding to make an exception for this one and it was for a reason that she hadn’t quite put her finger on yet. His laid-back attitude or the rage filled bloodlust on the battlefield. Or something that made her keep coming back for making small talks with him. Catherine stopped her trail of thought and continued the conversation.

“Well, if I know what the human had created that lead to their final moments, I would stay the fuck away from it.”

“Huh, good point.” Rick then raised his fist at her.

Catherine quickly took a step away from it. “What the fuck are you doing? Threaten me?”

“No, this is just what I do in pretty much every occasion. I just admit that was a good point and just want to show you that it’s cool. You just need to punch it back.”

“No thanks, that's just weird. Really fucking weird. I don’t appreciate physical contacts, either. It’s a cultural thing Emboar.”

“Yeah, well then my culture asks you to call me by my name.”

Catherine chuckled. “Fine, if you don’t do the fist thing then I will call you by your name.”

“Heh, you cheeky runt. Deal.” He took back his fist and crossed his arms. All while maintaining a smile on his face.

“Good. Let it stay that way, Rick.” And that was official for her. She was going to make an exception for this one Arcadian. They both then looked back at Doc and Axel, who were still do the same things. Axel just moved around and traced his fingers on the wall, and Doc kept his attention on the screen on his arm.

“So, you said something about your grandma, have families?” Catherine asked.

“Huh? Well, no, it’s just an old remark. My grandma passed away a long time ago. I don’t know what her house look like. It was destroyed in the war, with her still inside. And think I have a cousin back in Arcadia, he maybe still alive.”

“Oh, sorry to hear that,” Catherine said.

“Nah, nobody is a charity case on Essal. So don’t sweat it.”

 _“Where the fuck did I hear that?”_ Catherine asked in her thoughts.

“What about you? Leaving anyone behind?” Rick continued.

“No, and that’s for sure.”

“Oh.” Before Rick could steer the conversation to another direction, Doc snapped his fingers and said. “Pokémon gather round, I have found something rather interesting.”

When everyone was standing around the column, Doc pushed a button on his arm and changed the display on the holo-screen. A broken image could be seen on it, accompany by a static filled voice. The voice was appeared to be panting rather hard.

“May 27th, 3002, Doctor Reigh.                          

We made it *pant* and we are still breathing. The outer shields of the lab manage to keep us alive from the neutron bombardment. *pant* I knew it was a good Idea to install the experimental plates over the decoy house, disguises mean nothing at the time being. However, the bad thing is we stuck here. I tried to contact the General. The signal was sent but nothing indicated it was received.*pant* All the doctors and personnel are alive. The provisions should be enough for us to wait for this to blow over.”

The image stopped moving, ending the video log.

“3002 in human time? This is a few decades before the mass extinction.” Axel said. “Is there more of this, Doc?”

“Yes, only a few. Some deleted themselves when I hacked into the system. But I managed to save some. Here is one. “ He played another one.

“July 14th, 3002, Doctor Reigh.”

The same voice from before spoke up. “The readings on this Neutron bomb are not good. Its effect is lasting much longer than we expected. The censors are taking its toll; they could be broken down at any moment. And none of us could go out and repair them.” The voice took a deep sigh. “We planned to use some of the prototypes to scout the area, but their plating is just the standard alloy. Not good enough for surviving the effects of the fallout. Heavier armor mean redesign the entire frame. And of course opening the door would put everyone’s life at risk. Still no words from the government, but we will continue to hold out. We will not lose hope. In the meantime we will be safe, the plating should hold, I designed them so they better do so.”

“Neutron bombardment. Genesis did plan to reverse engineer it a few years back. But the effect it brought was too devastated that even Lucious banned it.” Doc said.

“How bad was it?” Catherine asked.

“Imagine tini tiny razor blades that cut your flesh. The blades hidden in the air you breathe. And they stay there for a rather long time so, yeah, these guys are out of luck.” Rick said.

“Ouch, that’s really fucked up,” Catherine said then tried to repress the image of herself under the effect of a said bomb. But the more she tried the more vivid the image became. She saw herself started to bleed from every part of her body. Her skin turned red and her flesh began to melt. She didn’t have a good imagination but that was enough to make her shake her head and try to think of something else.

“Some alloys with the right chemical structures could survive it. And the outer shell of this place seems to be a shining example.” Doc said and typed a few things on the screen on his arm.

“They mentioned of a prototype. I wonder what those were.” Axel said.

Doc said. “Wonder no more, because here another.” Doc played another log.

“September 1st I mean 2nd, 3002” The speaker’s voice was the same but he was not as calm as before. “Things are looking grim. Our provisions are nearly depleted. The government hasn’t returned our signal yet. We lost three more men today. I have to personally use incendiary devices on them. Some consider eating the remains but, I don’t know. I’m a doctor, not a savage. We will hold on to these provisions. With fewer people, means more time for the rest. Let hope there is time for everyone.”

“They sure not doing too well,” Rick said.

“Cannibalism, desperation, would happen sooner or later. Push that topic aside, there’s more.” Doc pressed another icon displayed on the screen.

“October 31st, Happy Halloween.” The same voice laughed while sounded like holding up tears. “Sorry for not updating for so long.” He said that through a sob. “The provision had been depleted. The scientists had become mad. All mad. They tried to, to, cannibalize each other. First their Pokémon and then themselves. It was a nightmare. I did what I have to do.” He sobbed some more. “They are all dead now. I killed them, retaining some their humanity. I’m the only one left.” He laughed again. “Till this point, I realized that the living here the whole time was a wasteful practice. No progress was made, nothing was accomplished. The government didn’t even care about us. I should have died in the blast.

I am the only one remain, but not for long. The government, they gave up on us. I guess they don’t want their shiny new toys that bad. So let be it. There is no point to this anymore. Whoever finds this, tell President Blake that he is a dick. This is Doctor Reigh, signing off.” What left was the sound of a single gunshot. The video log kept on showing a static screen.

“So, we now know what happened to these guys,” Axel said

Doc rubbed his chin. “They mentioned the phrase: “shiny toys”. I don’t know what it is but that politic for great experimental techs that could kill. Not what I was hoping for but not bad, I like experiments on new weapons and reverse engineering. Everyone split up, try salvaging whatever you can find.”

“There’s nothing here, Doc,” Axel said.

“Well tried the other room, let me open them for you.” He opened up the two doors by using a few command on the column. “Axel, you head that way with Catherine.” He pointed at the door in front of him. “Make sure she doesn’t mess anything up.” Catherine let out an air spit at that. “Rick go check the things on the right. That’s an armory, storeroom, and weapon testing chamber. Would be perfect for you, correct? And I shall remain here with this hub for collecting more data.”

“Dude, don’t you watch horror movies, splitting up is always a bad idea,” Rick said.

“Well, “Dude”. You have done this type of mission before, why scared now?”

“I’m not scared, just concern. Before, it was just an abandon archive. The human just, you know left. Here we have dead humans and cannibals. That’s a f’ed up combo.”

“Bah, with that logic, every inch of Essal should be haunted. Just get on with it.”

“Dude, I’m fine with it, just worry about you guys.”

“Thanks a lot, but that won’t be needed,” Axel said.

“Yeah, I fought ghosts before, nothing surprise me anymore,” Catherine said

“Yeah, well, okay, see you guys later then,” Rick said before taking his way and Catherine along with Axel took theirs.

Doc said, instance before the two doors closed. “Aright, report back to me when you find anything interesting.”

Catherine and Axel reached a long corridor. It was empty and like the rest of this place, rotten. They found a large cluster of those black spots in the corner. The spots infested a small portion of the wall and a few metal tiles on the floor. The cluster was next to a double door with small bullet holes on it. Axel tried to open the double door by jabbing his crystal blade in between the gap and used it as a lever. Catherine looked at the dark spots.

“They said Psychic types could sense things in the past and build images that reenact the events. I’m so glad that all that is bullshit.” Catherine said before turning away from the spots.

Axel did not give any comment, he just focused on using his strength to wedge the door open. He managed to make the gap a bit wider, just enough to fit a pair of hand.

“Well, that’s interesting but can you give me a hand with this?”

Catherine could not do anything else but just grabbed one of the doors with her hands and joined his effort to open them. She channeled psychic energy into both her hands and moved one of the doors with a dreaded dragging noise. After some hard time spreading the doors opened, they can only see a few lockers and metal beds that were blocking the way.

“Hmm, look like someone didn’t want to be disturbed,” Axel said. Catherine tried to punch one of the beds. It did not have any effect. “Well, look like we are not going in there.” He said.

“Easy, I can blast these opened with one shot. Give me a sec.” Catherine stepped back and ready for a Focus Blast.

“Save your effort. There’s probably nothing there but another black spot. Let check the other rooms first.”

“Sure, whatever,” Catherine said and power down.

They followed the corridor and made a turn to the left. There was a large double door in the middle of the wall; another room at the opposite of it; and one at the end of the corridor. Axel made his way to the first room. The door did not put up a fight like the last one. Instead, it opened up automatically and played a welcoming jingle sound.

Inside was a room filled with various machines, tools, and screens mounted on the walls. There were several black spots lying nearby a few tools such as a drill and an electric chain saw. The layout of the room made both Catherine and Axel draw a comparison between it and the ones at the Foundation base. In the middle of the room, surrounded by decayed and falling apart leather chairs was a large table with a large metal bug liked Pokémon with multiple eyes on it. The Pokémon shell was painted with a faded shade of purple and white stripes. The only thing that stood out on the shell was a black serial number and words that appeared to be laser carved on the back of the Pokémon head. Both of them approached the table and examined the strange creature.

Axel read the carved words aloud. “Property of the Osiris corp.”

“So this must be what they were talking about,” Catherine said. “What do you think it is?”

“Well, from the look of it, a robot of some source. Doesn’t look like anything we have seen so far.” Axel held his tube device near it, activated a scan on the Pokémon body. “Hm, organic traits? That’s strange.” He then changed his visor to the red setting; what he saw inside made him took off the visor to rub his eye.

“What the fuck is it?” Catherine asked.

He put the visor on and resumed looking. What he had seen had not changed. “There are what look like muscle tissues under the shell. That’s impossible.”

She shrugged. “What’s the big deal? You fuckers got machines and flesh stuck to each other. Pokémon like Doc isn’t it?”

“Catherine, Doc’s are add-ons. Here, the tissues are entirely made out of metal. They are merged in one. Or synthetic material fabricated in the image of organic tissues. That’s why they didn’t decay.”

Catherine gave a sideway glance. “Well, I’m lost. But okay, I’ll pick it up for you fuckers.” Catherine encased the Pokémon with her psychic power and lifted it up. However, before she could get it off the table, the Pokémon body whiplashed. It was stopped by a number of wires connected its back and the table. Catherine curled her hand into a fist and attempted to yank the Pokémon out with her mind forcefully.

“Not so fast, Catherine. “

She ripped the wires apart. But a bubble of green force field suddenly emitted from the table, stopped her from getting it on the ground. “Oops.” Axel made a face at her. She retaliated with a “What the hell do you expect me to do?”

Axel turned his communicator back on. “Doc, we found something.”

Doc’s voice immediately responded. “Found what? The Genesect, I presume.”

Axel looked at the Pokémon and said. “I have no idea what that is, but we found what appeared to be the prototype the human was talking about. “

“Yes, that’s what I meant. The Genesect, that what the human call them.”

“Them?” Axel said, before turning to Catherine, who did the same thing as well. “There are more?”

“Yes, there are multiple recordings of the human claiming to have created multiple Genesect. There are six in the lab. They are in the process of getting their body and armor prepare for repairing the outside sensor. The process obviously has been stopped by the whole cannibal fiasco. Fiasco? Oh dear, I am becoming Rick. Side notes, there are a few in the store room near the armory, nine to be exact. All are weaponized and fully tested for combat.”

Rick’s voice came in. “Weaponized? That sounds bad. Or good, if they are having whatever stored in this place.” The sound of the door slide open was heard. “Oh. Never mind, I saw them. Yeah, they are some mean looking son of bitches, all right.”

Axel said. “What exactly are these things, Doc?”

“Ah, yes, how to put this. Um, the process the human went through to create these are rather complicated and extraordinary.”

“I’m fucking done.’ Catherine said and get to one of the chairs. ‘Hey, how the fuck do you turn the voices in my head off?”

Axel gave her the keep quiet gesture. “Just tell us, Doc. I want to see what we are dealing with.”

“Dealing with? Relax, these things are left like this well over 10000 years. I don’t think they will”

“The lab’s lights and computer systems are still running. What makes these things so different?”

Rick said. “Good point, dude.”

“Point acknowledged. Allow me to give some insight on this thing. Well, let’s see over here. Oh, these humans’ intentions with these things are rather questionable. But the effort they when through to fulfill them is, well, just amazing.”

“Still getting no answer Doc. What are these things?” Axel said.

“Oh sure, forget my rambling. Bear with me. These humans used a machine that reanimates or rather, rebirth a few prehistoric Pokémon, by using their fossils.”

Rick said. “Okay, that explains the rocks and huge the smashed up machine I found in the room next to the armory.”

“That sounds fucking impossible,” Catherine said.

“I know. And they did so in so little time. You could get a newly revived prehistoric Pokémon in a day. You said the machine had been destroyed, Rick? Oh well, search for any kind of blueprint around it. Might be useful. It can always be recreated.”

Rick said after a series of rustling sound. “Yeah, I saw a few. They are in better shape than the document from above, collecting them now. But, wait, what kind of Pokémon did they use? I can only see rocks and nothing else there.”

“All of them were Kabutops. Or had been.” Doc said.

“Kabutops, you mean those things we fought in that cave in Veganra?” Rick said.

“Yes, those things. The ones that you called, here I quote: “ancient-Pokémon-with-twin-blades-that-cut-bitches” with affection.”

Tired of staying outside of the conversation, Catherine throw in her opinion. “Why these fuckers don’t just created robots? Less effort than strapping machines onto a revived prehistoric corpse.”

“The human doesn't simply strap machines onto living things like myself, but they rather turned the living things into the machine. And well, you made a good point Catherine, like I have stated, questionable intentions. How and why they turned flesh into metal. The details for everything seem to be hiding in an airtight security protocol in this archive. I need to hack them to find out.

Nevertheless, in a few recordings, the human said they did so by using an energy harvested from. Oh, you do not wish to tell me that? Something unknown for now. I’ll do some more hacking into this.”

“So what were they trying to accomplish with these living machine? Sound like a gaping hole will with flaws to me.” Rick said. ‘Why would you add something that prevents these things to be used in the long run? If something is alive then it going to die at some point right? And why Kabutop, why don’t them just use regular Pokémon.”

“Again, questionable intentions. Maybe ancient Pokémon is easier to be turning into an organic machine. Not quite sure. But one thing is sure that Axel is correct, these things could be alive but they are in a deep slumber caused by the human, of course. Clever creatures. They have created a well, a failsafe in each and every one of these things. So let just hope those are the only thing that keeps them from going berserk on us.”

Rick said. “What do you think they made these for? And don’t give me the questionable intentions.”

“Here they said the original intention was using these as super soldiers that could sneak and kill. They have organic brains with creativity and unpredictably that would prove deadly on any ground. Plus, an organic brain so cannot be hacked. And with the failsafe, which are just devices implanted in their brains that could kill and keep them in check, so no backfiring, probably.”

“I don’t see how these could kill me,” Catherine said.

“Well, you are probably looking at a basic model. No weapons or anything special, but with full equipment, these things could travel at high speed using silenced engines. They could carry any weapons that you wish to strap on the back. Heck, some scientist tried to install a mini nuclear reactor inside one and used it as an expensive smart bomb to use behind enemy line. The armors are light for said reasons, but the doctors are trying something to make the plating resist the effect of neuro bombardment.”

“How?” Axel asked while checking on the table.

“They used the, agh, you still not wish to help me. A special energy to help them rearrange the molecules of the plating, making them tougher and denser. Explained the shell around this lab that keeps the human alive. Probably the same kind of energy that turned the Kabutop into machines as well. They tried to do the same on these Genesect, but well that process takes time and time are what these humans didn’t have. Plus the extra machine and other changes needed for them to operate under the effect of the fallout are something that they couldn’t afford when stuck like this. However, over here, they admitted that one was fully upgraded and reprogramed but still had not gone through testing.”

“With all that in mind, are you sure that these things won’t come down on us?” Rick said. “Because I’m looking at them right now.”

“Hum, we still need some data to make sure, until then, proceed with precaution.”

Rick said. “Oh, great, I’m stuck in a room with these and you said precautions. Thanks, man.”

“You’re welcome, just don’t destroy them out of paranoid. We need samples for Genesis. Rick, did you find anything else in the armory?”

“Well, they have a few cannons with identical size. Some of which was placed on these Genesect. Look pretty beastly. Probably using the same elemental drives as the one we found before, the ancient hulking mass of whatever you engineer dudes feel like calling them. Looked okay, I might pick up them up along with a few fossils on my way out.”

“Good. Be careful everyone. Doc out.”

Axel said before turning off his visor. “I’m guessing the other Genesect are in the other rooms.’

Catherine said. “Well, no shit.”

Rick was in the room next to the storeroom, a large testing chamber for weapons. It had all the things you expected in a room with such function. Target practices with bullet holes, concrete slabs. Something just to make the effect from some weapons more, appealing to look at. Along with that, there were numerous cameras and detectors; a machine that did all the calibrations; weapon mounts. The only thing that was out of place was a gigantic splatter of the black sustain on the wall. Under it were torn pieces of clothing and a few dark spots.

Rick located a chair and crushed it under his weight. He did not seem to mind as he could not feel anything through his armor. The only thing that he could feel was the back pain from the whole incident with the drill. He patted the back of his armor. That could not tackle the pain at all. He tried to find a way to work it, tried other motion, which only made the pain worse. He laid his assault rifle on the floor and thought to himself.

 _“God, I’m losing it. So much for the bandit lord.”_ He smiled. “ _Heh, good times they were. What did they use to call me? A volcano of rage. God, I miss those dimwitted sum bitch. Probably dead by know.”_ He sighed _“Oh well. You chose this, deal with it.”_

He finished his string of thought before putting his foot on the floor. He heard the banging sound of an air vent of some kind under the floor.

In another room, Axel tried to access a few computers inside the other lab. With a few seconds from his tube device, the monitors on Catherine’s right opened up and revealed four Genesect in glass pods. All placed behind the monitor wall. All had the same color as the last one. However, these are more complete. The paint looked new and spotless. Each had a cannon mounted on their back. At the end of their weapons was a small cube device with a different color each.

Axel tried a few buttons on the keyboard. “Hum, they have a few recordings in this lab.” He said.

Catherine looked at the Genesect. “They definitely look strong. But still, don’t think they can kill me, though. Eh, sorry what are you saying?”

Axel then just played the recording. The voice played was equally distorted like the last but it sounded like another person.

“January 25th 3002\. Doctor Irving.

We have successfully transformed the Kabutop using the ascension procedure. A few doctors are currently studying them for more data. I have my doubt on these things, though. Mr. Jackel suggests them to be weaponized immediately after their process was complete. Fortunately, everyone agrees that we put a failsafe bomb on the neuro-network first. As all intelligent being, it would turn on us if it gets the chance. Therefore, it is always better not to give it any chance. Make me feel safer to live underground with these things, too. It will take a lot of time and effort in testing their functionality. The staffs agreed to name these things Genesect. I couldn’t care less about it.”

“Hm, let see what else they have to say,” Axel said, before accessing another file.

“March 4th 3002\. Doctor Irving.

The failsafe was completed, took longer than we expected. Received two casualties during the waking process. Too bad for Mr. Jackel, he won’t be able to see the fully equipped version of the Genesect. At least he had the honor of testing the safety first hand.”

He played another.

“March 23rd 3002 Doctor Irving.

That was much faster than we expected. These things are natural in stealth combat. Should take a few more testing and reprograming the get them ready. Their weapons will not pack much of a punch, but the intellect and adaptability should do more than make up for it. We planned to install a few hover motor as well, can’t argue with a little speed advantage on the battlefield.”

“Is there anything else?” Catherine asked.

“No, my device can’t hack like Doc. It is much more limited.”

“Okay, so these sounds kinda dangerous, just made sure that they stay inside the pods.”

“Yes, madame.” Axel took away his tube device.

“Saying that and your Sylveon girlfriend is gonna be jealous.”

“Heh, don’t flatter yourself.”

“Oh, you son of a dick.” Catherine spat and flipped him the finger.

Both then exited the lab and went to the last room, which was still locked with the red light. Axel contacted Doc. “Doc, there is one room left unlock. Can you do something about it?”

“In a moment, the security wall is preventing me from getting inside. That room must be the one that held the unknown element in all these researchers. May I borrow your ID card mister Reigh? Thank you.” Doc paused “Ohooooo, right. Now it is much more cooperative. A few more codes and all right. It is finished.” The door opened, allowing Catherine and Axel to enter.

“Thanks,” Axel said.

The room was filled with a buzzing sound of electric static. It came from two thin glass tubes carrying a swirly stream of blue plasma, placed behind a pair of twin generators. All the computer and machines were intact in this room. At the end wall of the room was a round metal container. Surrounding said container was a network of wires and metal cores. In front of the container was a control console.

Axel connected his communicator again. “Doc, I found something strange.”

“Do tell.”

“A container of some kind. Looks rather important. There’s a console here, you want to come here and do something about it?”

“No need for me to be there. Remote override should suffice. Someone has to watch the escape route. In case things go South as Rick would put it.”

Axel created an extension on his tube fabricator and connected it with the console in the room. He pressed a few buttons on the dial. “Alright. Are you getting it, Doc?”

“Yes, connecting. Give me a few seconds. Bypassing authority wall and assuming control.” The panel keyboard and red screens changed into green and the sound of static along with bloop and bleep was heard. “It is done. See, you human, there is no point in hiding these from me. I will eventually hack them all. Oh, that is lovely.”

“What is it Doc?” Axel asked.

“Be patient, wait and you will see.”

The metal container opened, revealing a round metal capsule with two sides that split opened shortly. A small amount of smoke escaped from the inside. Something inside it was slowly pushed out.

“Wow, redundant much redundant,” Catherine said.

When everything cleared up, the inside could be seen. There was a small metal plate placed neatly in the middle. It had some writing that was too small for Catherine to see. She went closer and got a better look.

Axel said. “Doc, I’m looking at it but I don’t know what it is.”

“Oh, forgot, you are not a Foundation agent when that happened. What you are looking at is.”

“One of Arceus’s legendary Ascension plates,” Catherine said.

“Well, some of us call it with the less awe-inspiring name, Elemental plates but yes. So I would take a daring guess that you know what it is?”

“Not exactly. But the councilors mentioned of it or rather them, a lot.”

“Well, it’s time for us to trade shoes, then. Care to tell us what you know about it?” Axel said.

She spat at the comm. “Pf, like I have a fucking choice. So he is the clip note. So back in the day, the Omni being or just human at this point, told the Celestian’s ancestors about the Old Gods. These forces walked the earth before the human time. These gods responsible for shaping all that is Essal and the highest ranking of them all was Arceus or the Alpha being. He created all the other gods, and then. Well, fuck, off topic. The fucking thing is, Arceus left a bunch of, eh, you could say fragments of his power on Essal, as a mean to enrich the world. There are 18 of these plates, represent 18 types of well us. All the plates have power over their element and well, I guess the human knew how to use them. Some variations of the story stated that the plates created some of the Old Gods but yeah, let not get muddy here.”

Doc then added. “Yes, most of the old archives stated something similar. The Old God in question were well, humans called them legendary Pokémon. And they appeared to have failed in explaining the origin of theses being as well. As a result, hey used various works of fiction to do so, just like that Celestian story. Mythology aside, these plates are sights of wonder. I have come across one of these when Axel was still in training. The one we got has the power over all things electric. We are still studying it and using it as the backup power for the Delta base. This one, I say this is the steel element.”

Axel said. “I see. So with this, they created the Genesect and plating for this base?”

“That is the most plausible answer. However, judging from the information that has been unlocked here a few seconds ago.” There was a pause. “That is the correct answer. This is the mysterious energy stated in all of their works. And now, it belongs to us, imagine what we could achieve with this.”

Axel said. “Doc, don’t you think, there’s something off about this whole thing?”

“What are you trying to imply, Axel?”

“It’s too easy. They made the effort to hide this from us but then just show us this way?”

“Human, you’ll never know them. And of course, it looks easy to you. You are not the one getting your head flooded with ones and zeros to open a door for you.”

While Axel and Doc were going on a conversation through the communicator implanted in their molars and every other Foundation agents’, Catherine was moving closer to the plate. When she was just a foot away from it, she could read the words engraved on the surface. All in Unown writing was the phrase: _“The power to break the will of all metal resides in this plate.”_ She was drawn to it and had the urge to touch it, to feel its power. It was a trace. She got her hand on the plate and felt a tingling feeling when she did. She moved her finger across it, making the surface of it vibrated somehow. She moved her fingers to the edge of the plate. Out of impulse, she then tried to pluck it out.

“Catherine, what are you doing?” Axel's voice ended her attempt to pull it out and the vibration on the plate.

Realized what she did, she made an excuse. “What does it look like? I’m collecting the sample.”

Axel said. “Don’t do that. We don’t know what it is yet. Back away from it.”

Doc added. “He has the point. It is stated here that the plate powered most machines in this place. Including the hibernation protocol on the Genesect. Do not remove it, unless you feel like getting into trouble.”

“Yeah, you said you want to keep them locked right, then don’t do it,” Axel said.

Catherine pulled her back and left the plate where it was. “Happy?” She said while showing the palms of her hands. Then a siren went inside every room of the base. The white lights were shut off completely for a few second. Soon it was replaced by red and flashing lights. Doc’s voice came again. “Apology, an authority wall stopped me. Shouldn’t be any problem if I do this?” There was a quick pause. “Oh no, well, Ummmmm, ehh, this is bad but, well, the place has been set to self-destruct.”

A distorted male voice was heard. “Self-destruct sequence initiated.” Doc continued. “That is what I have said, you obsolete synthetic voice. Please do not get upset. The console will do that in every which way, unless there is a key of the director, which I have no idea where, oh, there it is. Well, too late to abort it.” Catherine could hear rapid tapping in the comm. “These humans obviously would not want to lose any of this tech to anyone. They probably have anticipated someone like us. Trick us to think that we have tapped in the utmost important secret and then bury us with it. Grab whatever you can and escape. I shall try a few things to keep the exit open. Again please accept my apology.”

“What the hell, man?” Rick yelled through his communicator.

“No time, take everything and leave,” Axel said before pulling his device out of the console.

“This is problematic, my sensors are detecting movement, get ready for combat.”

“Oh, that is just fucking fantastic,” Catherine said.

Rick's voice invaded the line once again. “Eh, guys, the dudes are moving.”

“Terminate them if necessary, I have their design and everything. The prototypes are not needed.” Doc said.

“You don’t have to tell me.” Rick ended that line with the sound of his rocket launcher.

Catherine looked back at the plate. The capsules around it began to close, taking it back to the original state. Catherine quickly grabbed the sides of the capsule with both her hands and kept it open shortly. She then used her psychic power to pull the plate out, before getting her hands out of the metal jaws of the capsule. The sides closed, the networks of light on the wall behind the capsule began to die down and the sphere capsule sunk down the floor. The male voice returned, it said: “Power core removed, switching to emergency backup power.” The plasma in tube changed color, turning from blue to red. The twin generator began to run. The floor was shaking.

Catherine opened her coat with her free hand. A glimpse of shining golden threads and patches with different crests from the inside could be seen briefly. She took out the sunglasses with her psychic power and put the plate in its place. Her body still could feel that vibe on the plate. She closed up her coat with a click and then she calmly put on her sunglasses.

Axel looked at her, puzzled and said. “Seriously, now?”

“I need room to put this thing in okay?”

Both heard the sound of metal came in contact with the floor. It was somewhere in the distance. Catherine teleported behind one of the twin generators and took out the shotgun on her waist. She pumped the weapon for the fifth time that day. Catherine clutched on to her shotgun while Axel ran to the opposite machine, turning on his visor.

(The song It Lives by Overkill began to play)

Catherine had a peek over the cover and quickly dodged down. There was still nothing at the doorway (yet). Catherine quickly gave another peek, still nothing at the door. “Just keep your head down,” Axel said. He summoned a long barrel rail gun with no scope. He loaded 8 inches long shell into its chamber after a ludicrously long sequence of action and locked the weapon with a powerful clank. “I’ll try to line them up. Attack when the time is right. Don’t be trigger happy.” He then became invisible. Catherine put her back against the machine, which she was hiding behind and took a deep breath.  She closed her eyes and concentrated. Her mind was pushing aside the images of a band of the shapeless creature as a substitute for the human. The shapeless creature that hid, lived, killed and died in this hole. She pushed aside the image of her dying in the effect of the neutron bomb. She only focused on her breathing and recreating the image of the Sanctuary ground in Celestial nation. With a light inside her mind, everything changed. Surrounding her was no longer a metal underground base. It was now a small chunk of flat stone in the middle of an absolute still lake. This was the place that she and most Angelic Guards soldiers spend their time training their mental capabilities. Suddenly, a droplet disturbed the stillness of the lake in her head.

She opened her eyes. Both were now glowing in bright purple. The sound of metals came in contact had entered the room.  Its tone was much sharper and lighter than Doc metal feet. The Genesect had come to the doorway, Catherine put her finger on the shotgun trigger guard and maintained a steady breathing. The footsteps were becoming rapid and were soon accompany by another set of identical sound. She did not know what Axel was trying to do, but she wishes it was a good idea, (maybe). Another one stepped in. Catherine uttered a _“shit”_ in her mind. The malevolent voice decided that was the perfect time to say: _“Prove to me that these things can’t kill you. Prove you worthy of my strength.”_ A set of clanking steps gained in close to Catherine location. One of them seemed to have noticed the missing plate and went to investigate. It chose to approach Catherine’s generator of all the places. _“There were not much else in this room anyway, and eventually, one of them will see me and try to fucking murder me.”_ It raised its back cannon and armed the drive behind the weapon, preparing for an attack. It turned its head and scanned the capsule with its eyes. Catherine looked up, seeing the Pokémon jaw and neck. The joints rotated, adjusting the head.

Before it got the chance to look down and fully faced Catherine, she shot it in the jaw with three burning orbs; it was not before saying a simple: “Hi”. The machine creature recoiled, let out the sound of distress and alerted the others. In a snap, she raised her left hand, channeled her psychic power into it. With that, she encased the Pokémon’s head with the purple glow and tossed it along with the Pokémon at the plasma-filled tube behind her. The Genesect crashed into the tube and shattered the glass instantly. The electrified air was let loose, ran wild and burned the Genesect abdomen. The purple on it changed from black to burning orange rather fast. When the metal turned red, the abdomen burst released dark green liquid. The Pokémon let out a shriek of an unknown creature distorted by a broken speaker.

Something in Catherine’s gut told her to teleport to the other machine, and she was right. A Genesect had finished charging its cannon and shot a Hyper beam at the previous generator, obliterated it and made a burning circle on the wall. Catherine the jumped out of the cover and shot a few fire orbs at that Genesect while it recharged. The third Genesect flew at her with his arms crossed, ready for an X-scissors attack. Catherine rolled to the left, back to the generator. Then came a loud “Pang” as an 8 inches shell drilled through the air, hit the center of the X-scissors attack, snapping the arms of the Genesect like a pair of twigs. The shell kept going and punched through the chest of the Genesect; went through the Pokémon metallic organ and came out of the back. Yet it still had a ton of spare momentum to destroy the last Genesect’s cannon, a moment before the weapon could fire again. However, that was not the last of the shell. It kept on going and ended up with a bang followed by a hole in the wall behind the third Genesect. Catherine had blinked and missed the entire journey of the shell. All she got was a “Pang”, the sound of tin foil being pierced through by a nail and a boom in the distance.

Axel reappeared, deconstructed his rail gun and transformed the tube into his blade. With a swift movement, he vaulted over the crumpling body of the single holed Genesect, approached and slashed at a screeching Genesect, which had lost its main weapon. Catherine reloaded her shotgun, ready for finishing the last Genesect off. After the shotgun was locked, her barrier was instantly snapped away by a ball of electricity. Without giving her time to react, another ball hit her back. Her coat had softened up the stun but she could still feel the electricity went inside her body. It made her jumped a bit and laid down shortly, leaving her paralyzed along with the feeling of a burning sensation inside her flesh. The abdomen-less Genesect with its smoking cannon was making its way to her. Its movement was slow and seemingly painful to it. The missing charred part on its body began to bleed out the green sticky sustain. Its eyes changed from orange to red. The blade on each arm glowed white, all prepped up for a Slash. Catherine did her best to turn her stiff head to the side. She saw the attack was coming for her back. The Genesect raised its arm and swung down. But it felt no resistance whatsoever afterward. What it could actually feel was a melting pain on its back. Catherine had teleported behind it and shot the unprotected part of its back with her shotgun. She could not get all the orbs to hit him as raising the shotgun in her numb state was hard enough. The Pokémon recovered from the surprise attack and turned around. Catherine opened up her palm, channeled her psychic power into it and said: “Burden” under her breath. The ground under the Genesect glowed in a bright purple light and the Pokémon immediately hit the ground. Its legs were twisted and struggled to get the Pokémon back up. The Genesect retaliated with its cannon, shooting a few more of those electrified orbs at her. Catherine evaded them with a few teleport bursts. “Release,” Catherine said and then lifted her hand up, making purple glow on the ground transferred to the Genesect chest. Before the Genesect could feel the drop of gravity it flew upward and smashed into the ceiling, breaking the turned off lights. Catherine soon encased its entire torso with her psychic glow and threw it into the remaining plasma tube. This time, its cannon broke the glass and was melted away by the plasma. This time, there was no green liquid, but the Pokémon still let those ear-splitting noise escape its none-existing mouth. She did not let up. Instead, she forcefully pulled and tossed it at the wall behind her. The Pokémon’s body whiplashed from the sudden pull then crashed into the wall. Its body went limp, yet still be able to hold itself upward. Probably because the melted cannon on its back had stuck it on the wall. Nevertheless, the melted metal could not hold it there for long. Like a wet paper tower, it began to slide down. Before it could fell on the ground, its face received the sole of Catherine’s boot. Catherine felt satisfaction as she did so, and it helped her get over the stun.

 She teleported back on her feet and covered both her hand with the psychic glow. She grabbed them into fists and started punching the Genesect’s head mercilessly. The Pokémon head received twenty consecutive blows. The Genesect couldn’t do anything anymore, just let it head whipping left and right after each punch. The helplessness of this thing made her feel dominant and powerful. When the tenth punch was delivered, she drew an ear-to-ear grin on her face. Her head was in an overdrive. It kept making her punches faster, stronger and more painful after each hit. When she could see the blood smear on the Pokémon face, Catherine ended her assault with an uppercut; throwing the Pokémon head upward. Catherine teleported away from it and charged a Focus Blast in her bleeding left hand. The Pokémon tried to move toward her with its somewhat functioning legs. The blade on its arm was glowing again. Catherine said: “Die, bitch” before released the orb. It directly hit the Pokémon’s torso, pushing it back to the wall after a small explosion. The Pokémon was still in one piece, something Catherine did not wish to see. However, she saw something else, a gap between the Pokémon’s head and neck. It was exposing a few metal wires within the Genesect’s body. Catherine immediately threw her arm at the gap and grabbed a handful of those wires. With her right hand keeping the Pokémon’s head pinned to the wall, Catherine proceeded to rip the wires off. The wires stretched but refused to snap. The thin metal wires bypassed Catherine’s glow and cut into her palm, making it bleed harder. Her eyes gave off the purple glow, making more and more psychic power went to her hand and gave her the strength to pull the wires right out. The Pokémon let out those weird shriek again. However, the volume was getting weaker and completely faded before it eyes went black.

Catherine let loose her hold on the Pokémon head and allowed it to hit the floor like a hunk of scrap. Catherine threw the blood-died pieces of wires on the Pokémon’s melted back. She tried to say something clever but the knuckle bruises were beginning to swell and shot pain signal to her head. She bit her lips while wincing from the pain. Tasting the iron inside her mouth as she did so.

Axel and the final Genesect were still fighting. Axel was scoring many hits at the Pokémon but its armor just transformed those hits into mere scratches. The Pokémon keep slashing away the blades in its arms in a frenzy. Nevertheless, Axel finest and slim body kept them from doing what Axel had been doing to the Genesect. Catherine reached back for Anima with her left hand. The swelling had made it hard for her to get a firm grip on the weapon. She tried to put more pressure into it and get the weapon off her back. The feeling of holding a burning lump of coal went all the way to her arm. She bit down some more, replacing the pain with something else and aimed Anima. She charged two psychic bullets into the chambers and shot two concussive bullets at the Genesect eyes. The shot failed to smash the eye open but still managed to stagger the Pokémon. Saw the opportunity, Axel quickly summoned an extension on the base of the device. He then twisted and pushed it inside the tube device, making the base of the fabricated crystal blade began to glow stronger. The Genesect got over the stun and tried to stop him, but Catherine denied it with another double shot from Anima. When the glow on the blade turn into eyes burning white, Axel took a step back, jumped into the air and sliced the Genesect in half in a diagonal slash. The blade went through and melted every part of the metal Pokémon like a hot knife cut through butter. The remaining half tried to hit him with its remaining blade. He swung up, cut off its arm then decapitated the Genesect with one final swipe. The head fell to the metallic floor. The eye flashed and stopped shortly. The blade in Axel’s hand stopped glowing and the extension part was heating up. Axel ejected and dropped it casually on the floor. The little piece of machine heated to its maximum, turning red hot then died down like an ember. He twisted the device and let it emitted a regular crystal blade.

(Song ended)

“Thanks for the window. That would have taken forever.”

With her left eye closed, she said through her teeth. “Yeah, I was planning to blow its head off but whatever let just get the fuck out of here.” Catherine placed Anima back and rubbed her hand on her coat, painting it with some of her blood.

Seeing the red on her hand, Axel asked. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just ignore it long enough and it will be fine.” Catherine took out her shotgun and ran to the doorway.

Axel said. “Wait, I got to salvage some info first. Things would be in vein if”

“Fuck you, I’m out.” Catherine stepped out of the room and was shot by a stream of water. Her barrier disappeared and she was propelled to the wall.

As the culprit was ready for another shot, Catherine let out the cry of rage and teleported in a zigzag pattern. All while shooting a few shot at the Genesect. Catherine exited her teleportation with a shot of her shotgun to the Pokémon jaw. Her right hand was doing an uppercut motion while holding the weapon. She did not pull the trigger until the barrel had made contact with the lower jaw. The attack launched the Pokémon upward and dropped to the floor. Catherine jumped on top of the Pokémon, stomped on its head with all she got, enlarged the gap between the neck and exposing the wires. She summoned and threw a grenade inside it, then jumped back to fire her shotgun. The fire orbs prematurely detonated the grenade. The enclose explosion quickly separated the Genesect head and it body. The body was still moving despite having only one or two wires connected to the head, but its movements were just a twisted limbo, with the sound of friction as the background music. The lights inside the Genesect eyes were still having that orange glow, though they were dimly lit. Catherine proceeded to cut off the wires by emptying whatever left in her shotgun magazine.

Doc voice came from the comm. “A quick update, apparently something had cut the countdown in half. And I have nothing to do with that something. New recommendation, forget salvaging and getting out of this facility as fast as possible. Oooooooh dear, now I’m going to need some backup.” Catherine looked back at the doorway while slightly squinted her eyes. To her surprised Axel become visible beside her. He sighed and gave Catherine the signal to advance.

Rick was in the testing chamber. He was taking cover behind a wall beside the intersection between the testing chamber and the storeroom. In his right hand was the six barrels rocket launcher. The other was a belt holding a chockfull of frag grenades. When he heard the first breaking sound of the containment glass, he threw the grenade belt inside the storeroom and popped out of cover. “Get owned.” He said and pulled the trigger, sending the salvo of rockets inside. One of them, without any surprise, hit the grenade belts and set off all the grenades. The explosion broke all the glasses. The shockwave caused by the explosion enlarged the doorway and pushed Rick back, but he held on to his launcher and his ground.

Turned out the ringing sound in his ears, he looked at the once storeroom. Nothing could be seen beside puffs of smoke. “Well, so much for sample.” He said before hearing the clanking sound under his feet. “Oh what the Fringe-“ He then felt a spontaneous heat bit his back. Rick turned around and saw a smoking hole on the metal floor. He deconstructed the rocket launcher and summoned a double barrel shotguns. Loaded two shells into its chamber and he started walking around the hole. He tried to focus, anticipating any kind of movement underneath him. However, without the floor vibrated or not, he could not know, his armor was too thick for him to feel it. He turned on his barrier then concentrated on the noises that were not the sound of the siren.

Something sprung up, burst through the floor and slashed his back, produced a twin cranks. Rick did not bother turning back. He put the gun barrels over his shoulder and shot. An explosion was played beside his ear and the sound of an iron sheet of being bashed with a dozen of hammers soon followed. The Genesect took a face full of shotgun pellets and it was taken aback. Heard the sound of screeching, he turned back and face the Genesect. The outer shell of the Pokémon was no longer bored that shiny purple paint, it was blackened either from Rick’s inferno rocket or the belt of grenades. Its head was filled with miniature dents. Its mouth wished to open, just to let out a cry of pain. However, the way it was forged had prevented the Pokémon from doing so. Rick loaded up, pumped the shotgun with one hand and shot the Genesect in the chest. The pellets from his gun made the Pokémon fall pathetically on the ground. “Two super shotgun shots, you deserve a medal for that.” He quickly loaded two more. The Pokémon raise the blade on its arm and shield its face. He pointed the barrel in its direction. Before he could squeeze his trigger, behind him came a series of those bursting metal sound. His barrier was rattled by an unknown force. Rick pulled the last shot, knocking the Genesect down.

He turned around and found himself surrounded. There were definitely more Genesect that survived the explosion. The Pokémon surrounding him were having that charred paint and all of their cannons were locked on him. He quickly reached for the device on his belt, smashed the button on it. Instances before the Genesect fired their cannon. When the first wave of multi-colored energy orbs came at him, he covered his face with his armored right arm. The first few shot ate up his barrier and went for his armor. The sudden heat returned, this time, more intense and bore force more to it. Rick dropped the shotgun and kneeled down; allowed him to block the shots more effectively. The device on his belt was then emitted two large chunks of blue particles on Rick’s back. When the firing stopped, Rick was still kneeling down. He created a full teeth smile on his face. His flame beard grew rapidly, his eyes grew red, and a stream of flame poured out from both his hand. “Hellraiser.” he shouted. The flame engulfed his head and hands. He grabbed the fully reconstructed gun on his back. One was a rifle with two tesla coils in where the iron sight should be. Its barrel was sliced in three pieces and arcing electrical surges were present in between. The other was a shotgun with a large orange crystal bayonet attached to it. The barrel of the shotgun was flat and had two wings attached on top of it. As rick put his finger on it crescent trigger, the wings strung up and the weapon began to hum. The Genesect did not wait for their guns to recharge. One of them extended the blades on it arms and charged toward him. Rick shot it with his shotgun. The gun spat out six spikes that pinned on the Genesect neck, stopping the Pokémon. Another one went from his right and he swiped his shotgun blade at it, fending it away. The spikes on the first Genesect suddenly exploded, exposed its neck. Out of instinct he jabbed the blade inside it, executed the Genesect.

Rick felt something punched through the back of his armor and entered his flesh. The effect of his Hell Raiser had made his body numb from the pain, but that did not mean that he couldn’t feel the blade touched his bones. Did not wish to see what caused it as he had already known what that was. He shifted his legs a bit, quickly changed the position of his right arm. With his finger crushed the trigger of the rifle, making the weapon barrels light up and fired a chain of lightning that burned the armor of the Genesect in his left. The effect on the Pokémon was similar to the plasma from the generator room. Rick then yelled: ‘SPIN TO WIN!!’ And as his yell implied, he began to spin his body in 360 degrees. The blade on his shotgun swiped, staggered his enemies shortly and the lightning gun melted them. He could still feel the weight on his back. The Genesect that struck him was still there and was having trouble stopping the Emboar. Upon finished his 360-degrees spin, Rick stomped his leg and let out a battle cry. “ARGG, THE GATE.” His exposed flesh turned red. The blade stuck on his back began to heat up. The Genesect cybernetic brain could feel the heat going up from the arm and touched its head. It was regretting its previous attack.

Rick launched geysers of fire from his body and his wound, propelling the Genesect backward. His beard grew bigger and his grip on the gun grew tighter. The other Genesect charged their cannons and fired them at Rick. First was a red laser that his chest and followed by a barrage of energy balls and electric orbs. He took them with a maniacal laughter and a twisted grin. The shot bounced on his armor. The electric shots did go inside but the electric stun seemed to please him even more. When the firing stopped, Rick charged at the first Genesect that he saw like a steam train. He thrust the blade of his shotgun at the Genesect. It hit right directly in the chest. However, the blow broke the crystal blade into pieces and knocked the Pokémon on the ground. That did not bother him, just gave him the chance to see the effect of his lightning rifle. Rick stepped on the Genesect legs and ended its life with a long chain of lightning to its face. The lightning went inside the Pokémon head, burned the surface of the Pokémon’s face and broke the eyes from within. The orange eyes explosion reminded him of that one time Rick busted a light bulb by just holding it in his hand. It was way before he could control the gift inside him. The barrel of the lightning gun expanded from the heat and let out some smoke at the end. The weapon let out a beeping sound and stopped firing altogether. He threw the lightning gun with the still burning red barrel at a nearby Genesect. The Pokémon caught the weapon with an awkward grip from both its arm. The beeping on the gun reached higher rate and the heat from the barrel plagued the entire gun. The Genesect did not expect the gun to explode in its grip.

He took out shotgun shells from the holders on his armor and leisurely loaded them into the shotgun. The Genesect keep firing at him. The shots did sting, but that pain would be nothing compare to what he wanted to do to them. He switched the shotgun to his left arm and curled his right into a fist. He proceeded to throw a Genesect back with those spikes from his shotgun blast. He shot a few more explosive shots at the other and took any attack that they could ditch out. When his shotgun ran dry, he rolled to the side while loading up. With a filled shotgun, he stood up and fabricated a few shotgun shells on his right-hand gauntlet, right between the knuckles. He lunged forward and punched the head of a Genesect. The shells were set off when contact was made, giving Rick’s punch the force of a cannon. The force was strong enough to explode the head of the Genesect. Pieces of the Pokémon flew into Rick’s face, scratched it a bit. He shook his fist, ejected the empty shells and summoned new ones in their place. He threw another shotgun punch at a Genesect in the corner.

His punch was stopped by a blade dug into his bicep. Rick let out an incoherent yell at it. The cornered Genesect prepped up its cannon for a Hyper beam. Rick released some pressure on his right fist, causing fire to come out from the gaps and detonated the shells on his knuckles. The shots interrupted the Hyper beam charge but also threw his arm backward, locking the blade and made the pain caused by the blade recognizable to Rick. Rick pointed his shotgun at the Genesect in his right, which was trying to forcefully pull its blade out. He let the barrel touch its face and let it rip, emptying his shotgun magazine. When the Genesect face was filled with explosive spikes and the Pokémon let out those panic shrieks, he dropped the shotgun. Then, he used his free arm to rip the blade out from his arm. The tip of the blade was dyed bright red, a few miniature pieces of his flesh was stuck on it as well. Rick gave the Genesect face the back of his gauntlet with a random yell. This “Inferno bitch slap” was less powerful than the one his used the day before but it served its purpose, keeping the Genesect exploding face away from him. When that was not enough for Rick, he kicked the Genesect away with a well-placed kick to the chest. Every spike on its face went off as expected.

The effect of Hell Raiser was wearing off. The pain left in his arm was getting to him. He did not know how long his barrier and armor could hold up. He looked around, the Genesect were from still determent to bring him down. Their cannon was still firing at him from time to time. He decided to end things there.

He threw the shotgun away, summoned a large grenade and placed it at his feet. The giant explosive symbol on it made the Genesect stepped away from him. “Heh. Wuss.” He stomped the ground, summoned fire on his arm and began to spin. He was going faster and faster after each rotation. The fire on his arm grew bigger and turning him into a tornado, pulling the Genesect to him. He released more fire from his arm and increased the speed of his spinning, sucking the Genesect inside the tornado. When the speed reached maximum he jumped out from the base of the funnel and performed Rollout, gaining some distance from the fire tornado. He summoned the Gatling gun from before and held it with one hand. The other pulled out a detonator from his ammo holder and pressed the button. The grenade broke off into multiple child grenades. They all got sucked up by the tornado and set themselves off into a chain of nasty explosions, destroying the tornado with the Genesect were still inside. The Genesects’ remains were tossed all over the room. A shockwave mixed with fire slapped and crashed Rick to a wall.

Rick looked at the wreckage. A few Genesect were still online and got their bodies up. Rick threw the detonator and grabbed the handle of his Gatling gun. He cocked the weapon and fired it. The barrels started spinning and spitting out bullets at supersonic speed, shredding the limping Genesect like a sheet of paper. The gun overheated after cleared out the last mechanical Pokémon. Rick moved to the center of the room to pick up his charred shotgun and deconstructed it. He let out a smile and collapsed among the burned metal. The smell of it felt nostalgic to Rick somehow. He opened his eyes. The setting had changed a bit. The burning testing chamber had turned into a portion of the Outland desert. There were a few whimpering bandits kneeling down and bowed at him. The remaining parts of machines became burning heap of corpses, all clad in fancy armor. The word fancy was a far stretched as each armor was simply made from shinier scraps found in the Outland. He shook his head, making the world turned back to the underground base, but somehow blurrier. He the summoned a healing hypo and jabbed its needle into his neck. He then took a long breather and got up. The numbing pain in his arm subsided. “Man, I’m really out of shape.” The siren went louder and the sound of Doc in distress in the communicator did not provide him with the answer he needed, but it made him stop asking and move on. “Come on bandit lord, you gotta kick some ass.” He told himself.

At the room near the entrance

The central hub column had been destroyed. A few lights on top were smashed, but the red emergency lights were enough to let everything in the room to be seen. A gigantic rectangle hole was on the floor. There were several machine pieces on the floor. A turret got smashed into chunks and bits of metal. A humanoid robot with a pair of oversized arms was snapped into two. A flying robot that was still active and targeted at the biggest thing in the room a big red Genesect. This one was bigger and bore a shinier armor the rest. On its back was an arsenal. There was a minigun that had been overheated, a pulse cannon in the middle and a missiles rack that had been depleted. The Pokémon arms were not blades but a three digits hand and a wrenched-liked hand in the other. The Pokémon swung its arm and crushed the flying machine like a fly, its eyes then locked on Doc.

Doc then activated his Redundant Shield. That was the final shot of the day, and evermore if he could not terminate this thing. He ran toward the Pokémon and slammed his orange bubble into it. The shield pushed and shocked the Genesect, changing the color of the shell but did not melt it or anything else. The Pokémon used it wrench arm to hit the bubble, throwing Doc to the opposite side of the room. Doc shield broke after came in contact the wall, orange particles returned to his arm. The pulse cannon charged up, aiming at Doc. The Alakazam got on his feet and raised his mechanical arm. Doc bionic eye analyzed the cannon and gave Doc the best course of action for his mechanical arm. A moment before the blast left the cannon, his arm opened up and shot a concentrate blue beam from the palm. The attack successfully overloaded sensors built in the Genesect eye, knocked the red paint job off the Genesect head and chest, and shot the Pokémon back to the hole. The laser shot left the Pokémon behind with the dark coating and smoke coming from the head. Doc’s feet moved him to the side. His arm was no longer raise, it was limp and Doc was struggling to drag it as he moved. His body were leaning to the left side.

“See, it is not pleasant at all to be hit with an obnoxious laser.” He said before stopped moving. The Genesect rose up the arsenal on its back and began to hover above the hole. The Pokémon extended its arm. “Ah, that’s more appropriate, I guess,” Doc said. It launched itself at Doc. Before it could finish him off with a head on ram, a yell was heard: “Crimson Focus Blast.” A ball of red energy just went to its side and triggered a massive red explosion, knocking the hulking Pokémon off its flight path and slammed on the floor. The Pokémon was rolling a few time before landing on its stomach. Another penetrating shell fired from Axel railgun. The shot hit the minigun, smashed the energy drive on the pulse cannon and went out through a busted missiles rack.

While Axel rushed to Doc’s aid, Catherine teleported next to the Genesect and shot a few electric shot with her shotgun at its head. The electricity went inside the Pokémon and made the light from the eyes flashed a bit. Nevertheless, the Genesect stood up and let out the machine shriek. This time, the tone was not in pain but in rage. The Pokémon swung it arm at Catherine, who dodged the attack with a back flip. The Genesect calculated her landing and swung its other arm in advance, but she then teleported away before hitting the ground. Catherine stepped back in another direction and fired her shotgun at the Genesect, trying to keep it away from Axel and Doc. Saw her intention, the Genesect moved to where Axel was helping Doc with his metal arm. Catherine teleported in its way and fired all she had.

As it did not seem to work, Catherine raised her hand and used Burden on the Genesect. Gravity under the Genesect feet grew strong and stopped the Pokémon in its track. The Genesect legs were pulled down but it did not crumble like the last one. Axel got Doc up and summoned his sniper rifle while Doc got his pulse cannon. Axel shot a few bullets at the Genesect eyes, did not seem to do much besides staining the glass with scratches and cracks. The Genesect slowly stood up and moved sluggishly to Catherine, who did her best to keep the Burden up, as much so as using both hands for maintaining the gravity field. The Genesect got really close to her. The three digits on its hand began to spin like a drill. Its orange eyes changed into a crimson shade. Catherine did not let the Burden go, if anything she made the gravity grew much stronger, the Genesect did not want to give up either.

A powerful pang and a penetrating shell went to the Genesect’s left eyes. This time, it drilled through the outer glass of eye and just stopped when only the head of the shell went in. The shell stuck on the Genesect’s eyes while still spinning slowly. The shot was like a hook punch to the Genesect eyes, it stunned him greatly. Axel ejected the remaining case and loaded another in.

“Hi there, you son of a bitch.” Rick’s entranced marked by his words and the stomp of his armored boots. In his hands was still that gigantic Gatling gun, but his face did not wear that Hell Raiser smile.  

Catherine and Axel saw the weapon and clear away from the Genesect. The gravity on the Genesect returned to normal. However, before it could realize it, Rick shot an unstopping stream of bullets to the Pokémon, pushing it back millimeter after each bullet. With the Genesect had not recovered from the blow in the eye, the shots suppressed the Pokémon, prevented it from moving. The bullets bounced off the outer shell of the Pokémon but the force and friction each bullet brought did a number of damage on the Genesect. Doc changed a few setting on his cannon and went behind the Pokémon. He then shot an electric net at its feet. Catherine used both her hands to charge up another Crimson focus blast. Axel shot another railgun shot in the area near the neck of the Genesect, nearly choking it, or what look like choking. Doc constricted the electric net, making the Pokémon lose balance from the Gatling gun assault. Catherine then launched the blast, knocking the Pokémon on its back. Not without a giant explosion that stunned it of course. Doc shot a few more electric net on the Pokémon, making sure it stay down. The Pokémon struggled and tried to break through, but it got itself more tangled up after each move. Catherine performed Burden, making sure the thing stay there for sure.

“Rick hit it in the neck,” Axel yelled and touched the floor. From the metal, ground grew two large thorn vines. The vines moved under his command, got in the Genesect neck gap, enlarged it and keeping its head in place. Rick threw the smoking gun and summoned the drill. He jumped on the Genesect, getting a few jolt of electricity went through his boots as he passed Doc electric nets. He stepped on the Pokémon chest and then raised the drill. The pain on his back had never left, but he had to get through it. He slammed the drill down, jammed the head into the neck gap and destroyed the wired inside in a few seconds. The Genesect let out those pain shriek again, shaking in its retrains. When the drill cut the last wire it let out machine death gurgles and the eyes went dark. When the Pokémon stopped moving, Rick fell down on his feet, with the drill still stuck inside the Genesect’s neck. Doc and Axel tried to get him up but Catherine just used her Psychic to hold his back.

“I got him. Now let’s get the fuck out.”

They rushed to the elevator. Doc tried the elevator but the panel was locked. “Just step aside,” Catherine said before she activated her gravity along the wall and allowed the team to run upward. “The line is slim. Stick close to me.” Catherine yelled and ran upward, her right hand was holding the Psychic field that held Rick up and her left was keeping the rest from falling. Rick was right behind her and Axel behind his back and pushing the Emboar with vines grew from his collar. Doc just moved cautiously while looking back that the lab that would soon be destroyed.

Only a few seconds before the explosion, the team made it back to the bottom of the hole. All stood beside the doorway. Doc told everyone to huddle and brace themselves for the explosion. The explosion went off and shot multicolor dust and flame from the doorway. Everything inside the hole shook. When things were quiet and before the dust even settled, Doc said.“Okay, health check, who’s alive?”

“Yup.”

“Why the fuck not?”

“Here.”

Doc and everyone else immediately separated and everyone looked at Doc. Their eyes were judging him or rather accused him of something. “Okay, before everyone attack on me. Without triggering that I wouldn’t be able to access the full archive and get all the data.”

“Dude, no offense but we were almost killed because of that,” Rick said.

“Facing this type of situation all the time, shouldn’t be shy away. If it made you feel any better, I shall bump this to an SSS mission. And well, it not lost, we all most killed but we got tons of data.”

“I don’t care for whether hell those are. But our lives should be a priority.” Catherine said.

“You have no idea how important these are. And chin up, we are all alive. Well, forget that I guess it time to return and made a few calls. The rest of the base, let hope that all this can still be salvaged. Such a shame.”

“Well fuck you then.”

Axel remained silent, his hand on his non-existing chin. 

From above, at the opening of the hole, there was a Machoke bandit with his body wrapped up in dried blood and bullet holes. He looked down at the group, stretched a devilish grin with the stiff skin. Words came from the corner of his teeth. “5 down, 13 more to go.”

* * *

 

Author's notes:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is my first ever story so please forgive any possible mistake in the future and help me fix them.

Thanks again and have a pleasant day.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. They belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. The songs I reference here belongs to their respective artists as well. With that out of the way, please enjoy this piece of fanfiction.

* * *

 

Catherine was lying on her bed, sleeping. The screen mounted on her right wall was displaying a television show called: “Tiny Chefs”. That had not been what she was watching before fallen sleep, mind you. It was actually a show about Essal’s history. She had happened to doze off after hearing about the first part of the Apocalypse war.

A “contestant” of the show, an Oshawott wearing a blue apron, was putting a gourmet dish on the table for three fully evolve Pokémon judges. One Gothitelle, a Serperior and a Braviery in the middle. The Braviery opened his mouth and let the Gothitelle used her Psychic to pick up a piece of food and dropped it inside. The flying type chewed and swallow while the Oshawott was watching nervously. The Braviery gave his straight face and said. ‘Do you know what I’m about to say to you?’

“It’s good?” The Oshawott said, sounded like a female.

“No,” He said, making the Oshawott head immediately drop. “It is F*bleep* awesome. Cue the fireworks mother*bleep*ers, we got a winner.” He threw both his wings up in the air, pushing the two other Pokémon out of their chairs.

The ground behind him and the other judges opened up two trapdoors. From there, a lot of fireworks was shot up. The Bravery extended his wings and flew up. He then yelled some more of those gibberish screaming, a few of which were overlapped with censored bleeps. The firework reached the sky and exploded, filling the background with various colors and chain of loud nasty booming sound. The combination of both the screaming and firework was so loud that it woke Catherine up.

“Oh fuck!” Catherine said before rolling down from her bed with her sheet. Her head hit the floor with a clank. She felt dizzy and a sharp pain began to fade in her head. Without looking, she immediately curled up like a fist and covered her head with her hands, eyes still shut tight. When the fireworks stopped, she opened her eyes and saw the wrinkled sheet and the drawer beside her bed. Catherine released her grip on her head and recollected her thoughts. She reminded herself that she was not in the Outlands anymore. She was inside the living quarters of the Delta base. The sound of explosions she had heard was nothing more but the recorded sound of firework went off somewhere and some other time and definitely not came from some bandit attack. Catherine rubbed her hands around her forehead, easing the aftermath of the fall. “God fucking damn it!” She got the sheet off of her and stood up from the cold floor. The next thing she did was shutting the screen off.

(The song "Do the evolution" by Pearl Jam begins to play) 

Chesterization proudly presents.

A Pokémon fanfiction

**Genesis**

(Song ends)

**Chapter 6: Alone once again.**

Catherine walked out of her room and while popping her knuckles. The sound they made was not the same as usual. It seemed weaker and more tiring. And sounded more like violent cracking than popping. It was possibly caused by the bruises from the previous day, which were still there. Laying on and in between her knuckles like lumps of coal wrapped in her skin. Catherine flashed her teeth briefly. Both from biting down the pain and hiding a chuckle from a memory. (That thing’s face was fucking priceless) Mercy had suggested some medicine and wrapping those knuckles under some bandages the day before. But of course, Catherine refused.

She looked around. The main room was empty, there was the sound of glass came in contact with each other somewhere in the kitchen. The curve TV in the living room was still on. That odd screen shape somehow made the moving image of a classical concert extremely lifelike. However, the sound came from the speakers was tone down and rather hard to hear, like background noises. The dinner table in the middle had two empty plates on it. One was still covered with leftover orange sauce, the other had a few empty vials. Something that Catherine began to grow accustomed to. From behind the kitchen counter, Mercy stood up with a purple jar in her hand. The Audino saw Catherine and said with a cheerful smile: “Good morning, Catherine.”

Catherine saluted her. “Morning. Where are the others?”

Mercy laid down the jar on the counter and walked to the table. “Well, Doc are working on some machines, as usual. He said he was going to make a breakthrough today. He always says that as well. Rick is probably helping some of his workers “buddies”. And Axel. He is doing some assignments with his lady friend, I believe.” She paused and then asked Catherine. “So how are you feeling today?”

Shook her head once, trying to get herself awake and then responded. “Like any other day, not so fucking great.”

“Well, on the bright side you have a nice long nap isn’t it?”

“I doubt that.” She massaged the back of her head.

Mercy took the two empty plates and turned around. “What time did you went to bed last night?”

“I don’t know, late.” She yawned.

“Sit down and we’ll have a chat over breakfast. That should wake you up.” Mercy tilted her head. “Are you fine with it?”

“Sure, why the fuck not?”

“Alright, please, give me a moment.” Mercy said from the kitchen counter. “Toast or regular bread?” She asked.

“Pick whatever, I don’t mind,” Catherine said before getting herself a chair and sat down. Rested her elbow on the table, and hands caught her heavy head, she looked at the wall. The black moving numbers imprinted on it said 10:32 AM. If she was still in the Outlands, waking up around that hour would definitely get her killed, horribly. She could probably wake up and see herself by hanging upside down with two nails pierced through her feet and died by blunt force trauma from being beaten with a metal stick, which happened to be covered with spikes. She rubbed her temple, easing a mild headache and get that unpleasant mental image away. “Fuck whoever the fuck that Braviery was,” she grumbled in her head. She then put her arms on the table and rested her head on them, trying to get a quick nap. A clink made her raised her head up. A plate completely occupied with a sandwich had been placed in front of her.

“Berry jam sandwich. It is relatively small but should give you enough energy for today. Eat up dear.”

She looked at it but didn’t feel like putting it in her mouth. Hell, she didn’t even want to lift it up. She hated it when all the sudden, her body just felt useless and tired. If she had some sleep the night before, she wouldn’t feel this way. Suddenly, she regretted punching that Genesect in the first place. But at the same time didn’t. _“Its face was still fucking priceless.”_ The thought brought back some amusement in her head. However, there was indeed a price for that face, and that price was a night of her knuckles constantly screaming: _“You shouldn’t have done that!”_ in the form of waves after waves of pain signals flooding her head. As a result, she had to desperately try to drown their voices with the sound of a few historical documentaries. And even that took the entire marathon of those things to make her exhausted enough to sleep. She didn’t know what worse, the pain or the fact that she had to sit through those boring programs. 

It was true that the voice in her could do more than just give her unnecessary companionship. It could heal the broken skins and lost muscles on her knuckles in an instance but the clogged up blood and pieces of cracked bones pinning on the nerves in her hands, those got to take a while.   _“I could have made all the pain go away in a blink of an eye if you allow me to help you”_ That tempting voice was there, among the sea of pain signals.

Realized that she had just stared at her plate blankly. Catherine recalled the conversation with Mercy and answered her. “Enough for what? No mission today. Everyone else had left. And most assignments are stupid anyway. And I don’t need money since I don’t shop. So.” She stopped and punched herself in the jaw. “Ugh, I do getting lazy.”

Mercy placed another plate with an identical sandwich on her side of the table and sat down. “No, you just need some rest that’s all. You can sleep for a bit before tackling the day.” Mercy then picked her sandwich up and took a small bite. “Better late than never.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Were those injuries gave you a hard time last night?” Mercy asked.

Catherine nodded and looked away, her pride refused to let her call them injuries with her mouth. She had a mindset that said: “If something that is small enough to be covered with a bitch sticker (that’s her way to call bandages), it is not an injury.”

“Don’t be like that, dear. It nothing to be a shame of. Pain is a natural condition, it happened to everyone. Just acknowledge that they are there. As for those knuckles, it happens quite often here. A misconception that the healing serum could fix everything, so a lot of agents have the tendency to punch something that should be handled by some other means, like bullets. The serum doesn’t make you invincible so please be careful. I hope I don’t sound too preachy when I say these words.”

Catherine faced her again. “So, what is your recommendation for these then?” Catherine then grabbed her sandwich and took a large bite. It has a sweet and slightly sour taste. She could crunch a small piece of berry while chewing. And the sweet juice flowed on her tongue in each bite. The bread was different than usual. It was softer and had some hidden taste to it. Overall, this sandwich was the best of its kind that Catherine had ever eaten.

“That’s rather difficult. I don’t have any medication or treatment for them at this state.” She pointed at Catherine black bruises. “Most medications I could give would mellow you down as side effects. That is something you wouldn’t want to happen to a Foundation agent. For now, just let them recover naturally. You look like the kind of Pokémon that could handle some levels of discomfort.”

“I have slept in an empty bombshell that was impossible to lay down or sit straight up, so yes I can handle that.”

“Yes, but don’t act like you are invulnerable. Having higher endurance can only hold out to a certain extent. As for the future, you let me examine and treat your injuries immediately, okay? No matter how big or small they are to you.” Mercy then took another small bite of her sandwich.

“I’ll reconsider it.” Catherine then took the final bite, or rather stuffed the rest the sandwich into her mouth and stood up. She swallowed and said. “Yeah, I think I’ll go somewhere, do something now.”

“You don’t want to rest up first?” Mercy said.

“I hate lying in one spot while others work. Always makes me feel like a fucking idiot. You made this sandwich for me, I hate to see it go to waste with me sleeping. I just hate owning favors from Pokémon.”

Mercy laughed. “It’s just a sandwich, dear. You don’t have to put it that way. But if there is a favor I could ask you, can you please lower your use of profanity around me? I am not too fond of them.”

“No promises but I’ll try,” Catherine said before straightened her coat and made her way to the door. As her hand laid on the control panel. Mercy quickly got to the kitchen counter in urgency. “Hold up dear.” Mercy said before taking a sports bottle contained blue liquid out of the fridge.

“A special kind of berry juice just for you. You need to stay hydrated in the Outland. It’s good for your body and your mental state in general.” She then tossed it at Catherine, who caught it with her right hand.

“Pfff, Yeah right. But, thanks anyway.” She let out a small smile at the corner of her mouth and deconstructed to bottle and its content.

“Have a wonderful day, dear.” Mercy waved at Catherine once and return to quietly eat her breakfast. Catherine turned around, her hand did the salute gesture and opened the door.

Catherine took the elevator to the ground floor. No one seemed to use the elevator at that hour, and the walkway to the entrance was left empty with the exception of machines that keep the checkpoints running. It took quite some time to get through all the custom and head to the auto double door.

Catherine exited the Living quarters and head to the bus station located a few yards away. She tried remembering the route she and Axel had taken from before. She felt thankful that she had briefly looked at the number of the bus just before it left. But was it 86, or was it 68? For just switching the two numbers in her head, she started to ask numbers of questions and created a few simulations in her head. However, her mind decided to end all the pointlessness by saying: _“Just read the fucking board.”_ Catherine saw the station along with the hologram board. Very few Pokémon was there today. She teleported to the board and read it. She felt thankful once again for there was only number 86, 72, 03, and 32 on that board. She got behind the line of Pokémon and waited. What happened next was pretty expectable. She got the bus, took a seat by the window, watching the sights she had seen at least twice while it got her to the destination on the hologram board. After a while, she got off the bus and made her way to the Assignment center.

At the center, all the doors and window had been shut tight with those dull gray metal shutters. A few agents were standing outside. All were gathering in front of a hologram board it seemed. There were chatters surrounding the area. Random talks: ‘Third time this month?’; ‘No, I don’t think so.’; ‘Yes, it’s been a few day.’ Catherine made her way to the board, gently pushed aside a few Pokémon. Some of them gave her agitated looks from behind her back. She decided not to be bothered by them. The chatters changed from random topics into one: ‘Who was that?’

“Emergency maintenance. The Assignments Center will be fully operational in 24 minutes.“ The blue hologram board said.

Didn’t feel like standing there for more than five minutes with those eyes watching her back, Catherine turned around and walked away, leaving the chatter concerning her behind.

She walked along the crystal pavement, head was turning left to right, looking for something, different. Or something to do. And that was when she saw it. Something that was quite “out of place”. Among the rigid and box-like buildings, lied a pub (or something of the kind) with turned off neon sign that said: “Revenant”. There was no fancy hologram or glass stairs, just a pub made out of bricks, stones and a few windows. Catherine decided to step in.

(The song Tomorrow comes today by the Gorillaz began to play.)

The inside was lit up by sunlight and a few neon lights on the ceiling. On the wall were expected decorations like a few picture frames of some Pokémon, all seem to have a Mawile in them. A few sniper rifles with a wooden stock. And stuffed heads of a few mutated feral Pokémon. There was a long wooden bar that was void of any Pokémon sitting in front and holding glasses of liquor. Behind it was a strange Pokémon wearing a long fancy black dress. She was standing in front of a library of drinks in different colors. The Pokémon was something Catherine hadn’t seen before. She looked like a Mawile but different; she seemed more evolved. There were two jaws on her hair, which were both shut tight and had golden spiral pieces of jewelry at the bases. She had a locket with a large round stone imprisoned by a small skeleton hand made of silver bones. On her right arm was a Foundation armband like Catherine. But the color of it had faded greatly, some patched had turned white. Wrapped around her waist like a belt was a leather whip with a golden grip.

There were a number of tables at the opposite of the bar. Some were vacant by Pokémon, also without any glass of drink in front of them. Either just another Pokémon sit in the opposite or an ash tray. There was a thick smell of smoke coming from a few table, including one in the corner, which was occupied by the same eyes less Sableye and Lopunny. The latter Pokémon seemed to be angry about something while the Sableye just tried to look the other direction, searching for a way to escape. His hand held tight to a lit cigarette.  Catherine’s appearance shut the Lopunny up momentarily, earning a relieved expression on the Sableye face. Then the Lopunny and other Pokémon in the bar suddenly focused on Catherine.

Catherine didn’t feel like sitting in any of the table, not with those looks again. She didn’t smoke and she had no one with her beside the voice inside her head. Speaking of which, it was saying that the place infuriated it. And that somehow made Catherine felt a sense of pleasure. The voice knew that which made it angrier. She looked around having no clue why she was there. After contemplating for a while, she decided to head for the empty bar, for the Mawile behind it was the only one that saw her and acted like, “Seen it, nothing special, let’s move on, everyone!” She sat down, the moment when she was done fixing her long coat on the chair, the Mawile approached her. Her voice sounded much more mature than Catherine expected. It bore similarity of a Pokémon in her fifty. A few wrinkles were then noticeable to Catherine when she was closer.

“If a drink is what you looking for then you would be disappointed.  Sorry, but I only sell them at night.”

“No, I’m just looking for a way to pass the time.”

“Yes, I have heard. The assignments center’s emergency maintenance. That is the reason why so many are here today, at this hour anyway.”

Catherine looked behind her back. “I wouldn’t call that, many.”

“Different perspectives, I guess.”

“Uh huh.” Catherine turned back to the bar.

“Say. Why don’t you went to those Pokémon and mingle with them. More allies in this base is always a good thing.”

“I’m more interested in talking to you. You are also an agent after all.” Catherine pointed at the purple band with the Foundation logo.

The Mawile laughed. “Oh, this old thing? It’s just a souvenir, something to remind me of my young days. I’m retired.”

“Young days? Can you be any younger than this?”

“Oh, I am flattered. Thank you, Catherine.”

Catherine frown in surprise. “Wait, you know my name?”

“Oh sorry. It is a nasty old habit that I can’t seem to shake off.” She then reached down her counter and took out a shot glass. She turned around, grabbed a bottle of white liquor and continued. “You see, back when this band on my arm was still new, I was working as a spy and an information broker for the Foundation. It is an exercise that has transformed into a nasty habit over time.” She filled up the shot glass and slid it to Catherine’s grasp.

“I thought you said you don’t sell drink during the day.”

“Well, this one is on the house. Therefore I didn’t technically sell it. Enjoy. Taking it as my apology for taking your name.”

Catherine lifted the glass up and poured the content into her mouth. The liquor was like melted metal that went through Catherine’s throat and entered her system. It made her dry coughed afterward. “Ahem, I don’t mind Pokémon knowing my name but I don’t mind having a free drink, either. So, tell me, what else do you know about me? I’m, let just say, curious.”

“Well, if that is fine with you.”

Catherine raised and shook her glass in approval.

“You are now doctor Voynich’s teammate, right? Having a seasoned agent to watch your back, you are pretty lucky.”

‘I’m gonna need some evident to support the lucky part.’

‘You’ll see it soon enough. Let’s see, you are a Celestian or rather were a Celestian. Exiled, sorry to hear that. My father had a similar fate as well. Let’s not dwell on that. And you seem to have lady luck by your side at all time. Winning a 5* Cerberus shotgun during the first day and from a slot machine? That is something else.”

“Wows, and I have only been here for two days.”

“It’s not that impressive, Catherine. Not to brag, but if I really want to, I can get your medical record and got more than that. Like what kind of behavior, personally and weaknesses that I should expect to see from you. But now, I'm settled with a few conversation starters.”

“Then I guess it is fair for me to ask you your name.”

The Mawile laughed. “Of course, I am Gwendolyn Ivory, former Foundation agents, and now this place’s bartender. Nothing special, just here to help you agents unwind and make some allies.” She then offered Catherine another shot, who gladly took it.

Catherine drank it and shook her head once or twice. “So, when did you start working for the Foundation?”

“It was about 40 years ago. Back when Doc’s flesh and metal ratio was still fifty-fifty. But I swear to God, he still acts the same way now and 40 years ago.”

“40 years, get the fuck out of here.” Catherine slammed the bar with her fist. “You look forty now.”

“I’m actually 65.” She put her index finger on her mouth. “Don’t tell anyone.”

“I won’t. So are you an acquaintance of Doc by any chance?”

Gwendolyn laughed. “I am more than that, Catherine. Everyone around here knows me as Foundation agent number 003. And Doc is 001. He was my mentor and former teammate.”

“Holy shit!” Catherine leaned back a bit. “So you must be in the very first team huh?”

“Yes. I remember joining in when I was about your age. I have watched this base and the Foundation grow ever since. It’s a long story, but”

A Gliscor opened the doors and shouted. “The center is fixed, let’s move.” The other agents took the signal, ultimately got off their seat and rushed out of the door. Catherine let out a groan. She still hadn’t been able to shake off that bit of laziness in her system. And these two shots sure weren’t going to help that.

“Don’t be upset, Catherine.” Gwen took Catherine shot glass and put it back. “I planned to share those some other time. If you are still interested in hearing the old tales from a has-been, you know where to find me. But right now, you should get to work. The day is short inside this place. Stay in one spot for too long in the base and you are going to hate yourself. Go save Essal. Oh, and send Doc my regards.”

Catherine stood up and nodded. “I sure will. See ya.”

“See you later.” Gwen smiled and started cleaning the bar table, while Catherine made her way out.

(Song end)

After a while, the two shots in Catherine’s system stopped slowing her down. Instead, they started warning her up from within. Suddenly, she felt the urge to run. And that was how she got back to the center, impulsive running.  From the distance, a flood of Pokémon went in and out of the Assignment Center was seen. It stopped Catherine from her attempt to storm in and get the hardest assignment possible. When things cleared up, she got inside.

It was still pretty crowded but not too much. Fortunately, no one was near the bulletin board. With haste, she approached it and notice it was mostly empty. Everyone else was quicker than her that day. The highest difficulty available was just a B rank escort assignment-Something Catherine had done for her merchant uncle many times over. Anything lower was just chores like delivering items and protecting facilities. She expanded the description on the B rank one. It wanted her to protect someone who will convince a colony of free-lance workers to join the base. It also said that all the negotiations would be simple and fast. She shrugged her shoulders, tapped on the assignment icon. And memorized its marked serial number. She turned to the Ducklett booth and lucky enough, the last agent had just left.

The Ducklett recognized a familiar face approaching his booth, said. “Ah, new blood again. What do you want?”

“Receive my reward and register an assignment.”

“All right, card.” He opened a slot. Catherine put her card in. The Ducklett's mechanical arm took it, quickly scanned and returned it to her.

“Congratulation on your SS mission. The bonus equipment is at the Kangaskhan place. Give her the card and she gives it to you. And what is the assignment you wish to take?”

“The.” She looked into her memory. “1547A-K5 one.”

“You don’t have to remember. Just scan it with your fabricator device. You didn’t read the instructions booklet, did you? Anyway, fine.” He commanded the mechanical arms to type something and another took out a small box.

“Here is your item.” He passed the box to Catherine through a slot.

Catherine took it and said. “Okay, what is this?”

“Ugh, have to explain to these assholes again. That is a hologram built in Anna’s image and intellect. That will be the thing that does all the talking. You just need to make sure it get there and let it do what it is designed for. Remember to bring it back and do not lose it at any cost. Got it, good, now get the hell out of my sight, you ingrate. Next.”

She flipped him a finger and proceed to the Kangaskhan booth. “I’m here for the bonus equipment.” She said and handed over her card. The Kangaskhan took the card, scanned it with a device hidden in her pouch and gently tapped the gun wall behind her with her elbow. From the wall popped out an assault rifle with a shining chrome coating and a giant ammo box for a magazine. There was also a carving of an eye near the end of the metal stock and a scope on top of it. The Kangaskhan took it and placed it on a tray.

“Here you go, hon. The eye of the storm 4 * assault rifle. Full auto, it spits out electrified bullets like nobody business. But be careful with the recoil.” Catherine took the gun from the tray and held it in firing position. It was a bit long for her comfort. She adjusted the stock a bit to make it fit for her shoulder. The knowledge over these things through update the process were still amazed and confused her from time to time. She deconstructed the weapon afterward. “Oh, and just use standard assault rifle ammunition for it. The Genesis elemental drive in it will do all the conversion. That, however, needs to be charged from time to time, though. Be careful when reloading it, easy to jam. See the weapon card for details. Enjoy your weapon hon.” The normal type waved.

“Sure will.”

Catherine got out of the center and opened the box. Inside was a pen-liked device with a hologram screen that said: “Do not activate before reaching the hangar bay.”

“Okay, whatever you say.”

Catherine caught two buses to get to the hangar bay. It was somewhere in the southeast part of the Square. She had spent a few minutes at the directory board just to understand the route. It was a mess with all kind of colored lines that running on top of each other. That and a mix drink of number and letter that were not placed in any other, at least to Catherine. She constantly blaming herself for not paying attention to Axel’s instruction from the day before.

At the main entrance of the hangar bay, she headed straight inside the building with the constantly moving roofs and reeked the smell of fuel. After passing through a few Killian planes and helicopters, Catherine took out the device from the box and pushed the only button on it. A hologram of someone familiar popped out. “Greeting Foundation agent number 364. I am hologram 1472.” The hologram bowed. “Ready to assist.”    

Catherine let out a long breath and said. “Alright, what do you want me to do?”

“First, take me to gate C18 and I shall arrange a personal vehicle for you.”

“Personal vehicle? I can’t fly these fucking things. I have only been here for two days.”

“No need to worry, for I am the one that will pilot it. As the personal vehicles cannot be controlled by any other means after all. We don’t want the risk of someone escaping the facility.”

“Okay, whatever. Now, let me check.” Catherine turned off the hologram and stuck it on her coat. She continued moving deeper into the base, passed by gate A6, A7 and then changed direction as a crossroad and head to the gates with “C” on them. She reached gate C18 after a while. Beyond the gate were pods with an odd shape and a huge frontal glass. At the back of them were thrusters, small tails, and wings.

“Oh shit,” Catherine exclaimed when she saw them. “I’m gonna hate these, am I?” The hologram reappeared.

“If you have any trouble with this vehicle I will close the shutter for the entire journey. You won’t see a thing.”

“Righttttttt, but I’m definitely gonna feel something from those.”

“Well, just give it a try. And the trip will be short anyway.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Catherine said before heading to the ammo machine. _“It is always important to load up on ammunition. Maximize your chance.”_ Axel words echoed back. After filling up her newly acquired assault rifle, Catherine talked to the Kadabra engineer on duty, who was wearing a Genesis cap. The hologram then said a few things to him, making him unlock the door on one of the pods and instruct Catherine to step inside. When she settled in, he then told her to plug the device into the console in front of her and said. _“Just let it do all the work. And hold tight, because this is going to get bumpy. Are you sure you have no heart disease are anything?”_ Catherine nodded and buckled up. The Kadabra tapped on the vehicle, closing the door. He then returned to his post and opened the roof on top. Catherine jabbed the device in, lighting up the control console. The shutter on the big glass then slowly covered the glass entirely, trapped Catherine in a tight and dark place. The voice of the hologram said. “Please remain calm.”

“Yeah, that’s kinda hard to do in here but just get this over quick.”

Catherine then heard the sound of the thrusters activated and pushed the pod upward. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. “It will be over soon,” she told herself.

 _“Pathetic.”_ The voice in her head said before the loud boom was heard. The pods instantly escaped the underground base ceiling. Catherine’s face and body were stomped by a huge amount of pressure as the pod was getting out of the ground. “Holy Fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkk!” She screamed as the pressure grew stronger and stronger as the humming of the engine started to grow louder. “Leaving the Delta base, and achieving optimum height.” Catherine suddenly couldn’t feel her legs. For a moment she thought she had been paralyzed or something. She punched herself in the thigh. She could still felt the impact of the blow, though just a little. It made her a bit calmer. And then all the pressure stopped altogether. “Reached optimum height.” The engine behind her back changed the sound it made and then tossed her aback, pinning her in her seat. Her hand clawed whatever she could grab inside and hoped that the ride would actually be short like the hologram said.

After 10 or 15 minutes, the pod got to a dry and barren part of the Outland. It began to slow down and descended. The sound of the engine lowered the volume. When the pod touched the ground, the hologram voice could be heard from within. “We have arrived, 364.” And Catherine's voice followed. “Thanks, fuck.”  The vehicle then shook violently. Thumping sound of Catherine fist bashing on the door was there. When the door gave way, Catherine dived out of the pod and hit the dusty ground. She used her arms to push half of herself up. Allowed herself to take quick and rapid breaths. The voice of the hologram came out from the pod. “364, Are you alright? 364, answer me?”

“Yeah. Shit. Yes, I am just fine. Whoa, shit. I don’t wanna do that again.”

“You have to. How do you expect to go back, 364?”

Catherine got up. “Whatever, again, let’s just get this over with.” She dusted her coat and knees and wiped off the dust from her non-existing chin.

“Please do not forget me.” The hologram said.

“Nag, nag. I’m coming.”

After retrieving the device, Catherine got back out, looked at the bad land _“Still as fucking majestic as ever”_ , and immediately saw a base a few hundred meter away. It was covered by a relatively tall metal walls in the distance. The hologram pointed its hand to it, confirming what Catherine had already known. “There is our destination, 364.”

Catherine was feeling the resistance from the dry and dusty ground again. That and the heat felt nostalgic to Catherine somehow. She couldn’t believe that she was just a single day away from the dry and dull ground of the Outland desert. It just felt like a month or more to her.

The Hologram was floating beside her, keeping its straight face. The base grew bigger and clear as they got closer. The metal walls were apparently made from patched up pieces from past war machines. There were serial numbers and flags painted in an absolute chaos fashion on them. A few holes on them were filled up by scrap metal and rusted pipes that cut into sharp spikes.

Catherine reached the gate shortly and faced a blockage. The main gate shutter was still there. “Get the Fuck out; There is nothing here for you bandits; and Your Mum.” These words were written in spray paint on the shutter as if they were there to cause hurt to the bandits, who would likely get angry and do something like shooting at the gate or head butt it (There were a dent and blood stains to support that). The latter scenario got a chuckle out of Catherine, probably because in some regard, those words did cause hurt. There was no guards or anyone or anything that Catherine could do to let her present known. She proceeded to knock on the metal door three times. No answer, just the rustling sound from the wind. She knocked three more times, stronger this time. No answer but the echo on the shutter. She punched the door hard three times and same result. She rubbed the bruises on her knuckles and stepped back. She then charged forward and kicked the door with the metal tips of her boot. The vibration shook her and the door but still, no answer. She began to scream. “Hey, motherfuckers! Genesis is here and we want to speak with you!”

The hologram tried to held her back but couldn’t. Its hand just went right through her. “364, you shouldn’t say that.” The walls around the gate suddenly shook and a different sound was played, probably someone opening the locks on the shutter.

“Heh, obviously work. Yeah, about time you wake up!”

Two turrets with autocannons were raised from behind the wall. They settled and made the sound stopped. The turrets then took aim. “Oh, shit.” She said and ran away. The hologram disappeared from Catherine’s sudden movement. The auto cannons fired, following Catherine every step. She then performed a burst teleport, throwing the cannons off. And after a series of dodging and teleporting she got behind a large rock. As Catherine disappeared from the turret’s sight, the firing stopped.

Catherine said. “Don’t say it. Just shut up.” The device listened and didn’t let out Anna’s doppelganger.

Catherine touched the sleeve device and fabricated her assault rifle; it was the only thing with a scope in her arsenal. She got out of cover and saw the two turrets. They had let up their assault but still remain active. Catherine took aim and shot. The Kangaskhan didn’t exaggerate at all. This thing did shoot out bullets like nobody business. But the recoil from a single trigger pulled pushed Catherine back and let the barrel reach to the sky. As a result, she did not know how many bullet actually hit, probably none.

Changed her plan, she strapped the weapon on her back and returned to the rock, performed a Calm Mind and get herself ready. When her mind was clear, she channeled a ball of orange energy in between her hands. She concentrated and made the orange orb turned red. When the orb became unstable, she got away from the rock and charged toward the door blindly. She screamed a battle cry, hoping to achieve the confusion of her enemy, which obviously didn’t work and would never work here. The turret locked on her again and fired. The cannons’ bullets hit her barrier and broke it with only a few shots. She teleported in a zigzag while gaining in close. When the distance between her and the gate was enough, she threw her orb at one of the turrets.

The orb hit the cannon directly, setting off an explosion that decimated the turret from within the protective plating. A crimson shockwave was sent out, shook the other turret. But its armor was enough to keep that cannon running and fired at a standstill, Catherine. The shots destroyed the half charged barrier and a few shots punched her coat and pinned in her flesh. With a yelp, she frantically teleported backward and got back to the rock. The cannon stopped once again. Catherine laughed, which shocked her ribcage and made her choke on blood. She spat some blood on the ground and said. “Pff, advance technology with the intelligent of a potato.” She then proceeded to wipe the blood off her mouth. Catherine then breathed slowly, feeling the heaviness inside her chest in each breath. She grabbed her hands into fists, channeled her bright purple psychic glow into them and braced herself.  She let out a stretched out grunt and focused her power to the bullets holes. Three blood covered pieces of metal was slowly moved out. As if an invisible surgeon with some fancy equipment was standing in front of her and doing his job. When they were removed, she threw them on the ground and kicked some dirt on them. Pretending as if they didn’t exist. She felt relieved to some extent. Her chest was still hurt but it would stop if she forgot about it. She charged another Crimson Focus Blast and get to the turret, repeated the process and destroyed it.

The red lights on the gate turned on and an alarm was played. Another layer of shutter slammed down and reinforced the door after the turrets absence. “Cheeky bitch,” Catherine muttered under her breath.

The hologram came out and said. “Hm, maybe we should try another approach. Something more polite. Let’s just cancel the assignment and let someone else handle this.”

“Oh no, I hate doing things half ass. I am not suffering through a flight in that thing just to come back with a fine. I can do this.” She said before forcefully slammed her palm on the gate, applied Gravity on it and began to walk up.

“364, that’s break-in entering.” Catherine pushed the button and turned off the hologram.

When she was the other side, she cut off the Gravity and fell down. The base or rather the colony consisted of a few small buildings and a rather large yard. There was something planted in the middle of it, Catherine presumed it to be a flag pole,a strangely short flag pole. There was no one present at the base, just a few a few bodies and blood spatters.

“Shit, not again.”

Catherine went to the bodies to investigate. What she had seen so far belonged to the colonists. Some were slashed and punched or riddled with bullets holes-the usual bandit brutality. But there was something else that caught her attention, these bullet holes were rather unusual. They look more like burn marks than holes. Against her better judgment, she approached a dead Hypno. He was wearing a yellow worker uniform with a tool belt. There was a rusted shotgun in his hand. Catherine tried to reach inside the wound of his body. It was dry and hot on the surface, as she expected it to be. She dug deeper, feeling the damp of flesh and blood. Besides the disgusting sound and feeling that she would like to forget, there were no bullets. She pulled her finger out, and flick it, throwing a drop of thick black blood to the ground. After cleaning it by wiping against her coat she called the hologram, which was still appeared to displease at Catherine’s actions.

“Yeah, yeah, forget it. We got something on our hand.”

“Yes, I have seen it, the recording camera on the device have captured everything. The colonists were missing. Judging from the signs we got, it is possible to assume it was a bandit attack.”

“Of course. But have a look at this. These wounds are weird, I have never seen any bandit’s weapon did this.”

The hologram looked at the body and said. “Sorry, I have no data concerning the field of medicine.”

“Oh, yeah, negotiator. Almost forgot.” Catherine left the body there and searched for something else.  She found a Machoke bandit’s body nearby. He was wearing the scrap metal armor and again with that crown symbol. He was killed with multiple shotgun blasts to his body and face. There was a weird weapon in his hand. She kneeled down and took it. It was a submachine gun with the infinity symbol on it. It was oddly shaped, much more angular than a normal gun.

“That is an Infinity manufactured weapon.” The hologram said.

“What is Infinity? Some company?”

“Yes, in fact, they are our biggest rival.”

“Oh, I see. Probably they want these workers for themselves and didn’t get what they want so. Did they kidnap them? Is that what company do in the Outland? Join our workforce or we fucking kidnap you. Damn, and I thought the councils were nuts before.”

“No, don’t assume such things. Yes, the Infinity has given a lot of troubles to us in the past but I doubt they would kill innocent pedestrians like this. This bandit probably gets this weapon from a smuggler, nothing more.”

“Whatever works for you.” She took the weapon and test fire it. The weapon shot out a steady stream of energy bullets with a pew sound from science fiction movies. The shots were extremely accurate and created those char marks as they hit a surface. She then aimed at the bandit's body and tested it. The marks certainly matched.

“Well, mystery solved.” She said and tried to reload the weapon but there was no magazine on it. “Eh, how the hell?”

“The Infinity manufactured weapon have a portable Infinity engine-their exclusive tech, making the weapon never run out of ammo and have zero recoils. However, they will seize fire after a while due to overheating.”

“Okay. I’m gonna keep it. It is against company’s policy or some shit?”

“Yes.”

“Fuck you. I’ll keep it anyway.” She scanned the weapon and then deconstructed it.

A door in the base opened, let loose a few humanoid robots with pistols. “Intruder detected.” They said in unison with that stiff computer voice. “Destroy, Destroy.’” They moved forward and fired their weapon.  All of their shots, however, failed to even hit Catherine barrier. Some even appeared to focus more on Anna’s hologram.

“Thank you dumbass bots.” Catherine took out her assault rifle and held it tightly. She got into a better stance and get herself ready for the recoil. Even when she took her time to get ready the robots were still failed to disrupt her barrier. She took aim and squeezed the trigger, the kick back was there but she was more than prepare for it. Keeping the muzzle from pointing up to the sky, she managed to get the bullets to enter the robots body and head. The electrified shots overloaded the mechs system, making them shivered and paralyzed, ensuring the kill. She summoned her grenade and threw it at the one in the middle. As soon as the grenade hit it in the head, she activated her Singularity and pulled them all in and watch them reduced to spare part in a flash. She turned to the hologram. “What are you hire these workers for?” She said.

“Maintaining power, mechanics, electricians, why did you ask?”

“Good, cause they sure as hell can’t program shit.”

She walked to the center of the yard. The flag pole now looked more like a flower with three petals made out of metal. The old and rusted kind of metal. Catherine got closer to it, slowly. Each step as if getting closer to an armed bomb. She saw the side and seen the same Infinity symbol marked on it. The hologram looked at it and said. “Looking like an obsolete jamming device.”

“What does it do?”

“Stop all electronic from working by releasing an EMP blast. The Infinity used to throw this into our facilities and yes, to steal from us. Probably this is what made the security temporary stopped and allowing the bandits to get in.”

“Still saying this is a bandit act, huh?”

“There is still too little evident to support any other case. Like I said before, these things are rather obsolete. You can easily find them in very much anywhere in the Outland. And the Infinity had stopped using them for quite some time.”

“Whatever. Anyway, I guess nobody’s home, so let get the fuck out. Please try some way for me not to get fined after this.”

“No, someone is home. Someone has reactivated the turrets and mechs. These things just don’t come back online on their own. Someone had to reboot them after the EMP.”

Catherine reloaded her weapon and shrugged her shoulders. She lifted her head up and yelled. “Okay, who the fuck is still here, show yourself or-“

“364, stop making it worse.’”

Catherine continued to scream. “Okay, sorry.” She took a long breath. “We are Genesis. We here to investigate and stuff. Let yourself be known. We mean you no harm.” A pause. “Except for your dumb as fuck robots. They shot first.”

“That is somehow, better.” The hologram said.

A megaphone on one of the buildings spoke up. The Pokémon behind it seemed too uncertain and young to be intimidating. “Good, if so, dr, drop your weapon to the ground and kick it away, then we’ll talk.”

Catherine chuckled then did what she was told. She also put her hands behind her head for good measure. “There. You happy?”

A reinforced door opened up. A Minccino, shorter than Catherine, with two humanoid mechs by his side, stepped out. The Pokémon white fur was stained with patches and patches of sticky black oil. The tip of his tail was not white and fluffy but was dragged on the ground, covered in greasy oil. He had a belt with all the thing an engineer need. In his stubby right paw was a glove with slots that fit the tool on his belt in and a metal tablet in his right. They walked to Catherine and Anna’s hologram. He commanded the mechs to point their guns at Catherine at all time. Catherine sighed and fake yawned, waiting for them to reach her.

“Come on, we are not getting any younger here,” Catherine said.

“Then why don’t you meet him half way, it would be less time consuming.”

“I was about to, but our janitor friend seems to have trust issues.”

“Shut up. I’m not a janitor. And fine, move closer, slowly.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t want to throw your dumbass robots off their fucking aim.”

“Quiet!” The Minccino spat.

Catherine let out a grin, one bore a hint of malice. “Have another look and take that back.’” Catherine said. She was planning to disarm him with a focus Psychic attack around that device of his. It might twist his arm but.

The Hologram intervened. “364, I think that is quite enough. He is a victim who had just recovered from an attack. He is not a bandit. Save that intimidation treatment for someone else more deserving.” If Catherine had ever wondered a hologram could give a glare chock full of fury, then she had her answer. The hologram turned to the Minccino. “I am truly sorry. She is a new agent who hasn’t had much experience with such sensitive situations. She will have her payment cut I assure you. But please be calm.” The Minccino nodded. The hologram let out a smile.  “So, are you Hugh, this facility lead engineer?”

“No, I’m just his apprentice, Kevin. He, he is, is right there.” The Minccino pointed at the body of a Hypno, who Catherine had recently examined. The Minccino’s eyes began to water up.

“How about you head inside and tell us, me everything okay?” The hologram said.

“Sure.” He turned around and head back to the way he came. The mechs followed him, ignoring Catherine, who just stood there, thinking. The hologram turned to Catherine. “We need to get this moving, 364.” Catherine nodded then slowly made her way inside as well.

The room that the Minccino was in was a security room filled with robots parts tools and stacks of boxes. The Mincinno was sitting on a chair placed in front of a few monitors showing various places inside the colony. He kept his head down, trying not to let the tear fall from his eyes. He took heavy breaths and wiped his paw against the corner of his right eye.

“Hey, take this.” Catherine handed him the bottle of juice Mercy had given her. “It’s juice. Keeping yourself hydrated. Losing water here makes you lose your shit, that’s what I heard.”

The Mincino let out signs of a smile. ‘Thanks, the Minccino said shyly. He then put that sign out of sight and replaced with a sigh.

“Yeah, sorry for the break-in entering. I knocked and no one answered. And the turrets were being bitches so.”

He then saw the holes with dried blood on Catherine’s coat. “Did the turrets do that to you?” He asked Catherine.

Catherine looked down and said. “Yeah, no biggy, though.”

“Sorry, I thought you were bandits, coming back for me. I have told our “Mayor” to install some more camera outside but you get the idea.”

“So, tell us, what have happened?” The hologram said.

“I don’t know for sure. I was in there.” He pointed at the opened vent beside Catherine. ‘Inside the air vent, cleaning some electronic parts and grease up a few things. It’s what I do every Monday. Everything breaks down in this place and cramped up all the time. I was about to finished my work and then boom.”

“Boom?” the hologram asked.

“Something fell out from the sky. It shook the ground and turned off all the light and devices I have with me. It was dark afterward and I was stuck in the vent. I don’t know what to do. I screamed for help but no one answer. Then I heard screaming and gunshots.” The Minccino took those heavy breaths again. He opened the bottle and drank half in one go. Nearly choked on the juice. “They took everyone, Lyly, Mina, Gage, Kenny. Killed Mr. Hugh during the process. I can’t find the Mayor. They must have had him. I know that he will tell that I was left behind. I’m sure of it.” He took a sip of the juice. “I then escaped the vent, repaired the security then hold out in here since.”

“Do you know what has caused it?” The hologram said.

“Yeah, the thing in the middle of the base. Obviously. It was just there went I got out. That’s all I know.”

“Thank you for telling us, now you should rest up while we contact the base. Are you fine with taking refuge at Genesis?”

“Yes, what choice do I have?” He then got off the chair and gave Catherine the bottle back. He then laid on the box. His paws knotted and were on his chest. He looked as if he was ready for a therapy section. His breathing was slow and steady.

Another boom hit the ground, making the Minccino got up and quickly got behind a metal box nearby. “They back for me.” He shrieked in terror. Catherine put her finger on her mouth, asked him to remain quiet. She then told him to get back to the vent. The Minccino nodded and climbed inside. Catherine handled him the pen device that held Anna’s hologram. “This time, she will keep it light up and keep you company. If I die, it will help you contact Genesis, maybe.“ Then hologram reassured him that it was true with a nod. Catherine closed the vent then put the assault rifle on her back. She picked up the bottle and finished it. The taste of it was blander than she had expected. She summoned Anima to her hand and wiped her mouth. The door opened up and she got outside. Her hand clutched tightly to the double-barreled revolver.

At the flower device, she saw a Glacion standing on two feet. Her arms were still natural paws but wrapped up with gloves, similar to the Minccino’s. Her entire body was covered in a thin cloud of white snow. The Pokémon was also wearing a white and light blue leather outfit with the Infinity crest on the shoulder.

The Galceon was examining the strange device with great concentration. Catherine screamed while pointing Anima at her. “Hey, what the fuck are you doing here?”

The Pokémon turned around. She immediately looked at and recognized Catherine’s armband. “Who are you?” The Glacion asked.

“Your fucking ancestor,” Catherine said with a grin. “I don’t know who the fuck you are, but you are here for him aren’t you?”

“He is here? So the rumor is true, Genesis is behind this.

That line had Catherine confused for a moment. She thought, _“What rumor? That pussy ass Mayor, Genesis hiring these Pokémon, maybe.”_ Catherine charged psychic energy into the chamber and continued. “That depends. What do you want with him? What has he ever done to you?”

“Save your words. Just show me where he is or I will kill you.” The Glaceon touched a button and activate a helmet to cover her entire head.

“That is not gonna happen. Both scenario that is.”

The Glaceon created an ice spear from the air around her and propelled it at Catherine. “Then di---Agh”

Catherine had teleported behind the Glaceon and fired Anima. The first double shot hit the ice type’s back. Yet it didn’t have the impact Catherine was hoping for, just got a scream from the Glaceon. The second shots were blocked by a thick sheet of ice, formed just after the Glaceon’s scream. Catherine quickly teleported to the left side of the Glaceon and shot the last of Anima chambers. With a raise from her paw, the Glaceon moved the sheet and blocked Catherine shots once again.

(The song Metal Hypnotized by Earthbound Papas began to play)

“You’ll pay for that!” The Glaceon said, before reshaping the sheet into a long spear and threw it at Catherine with two swift moves from her paw. Catherine held tight to Anima, jumped and teleported on top of the spear. She landed on and used it as the base for a double jump. Catherine lifted herself in the air momentarily, with Anima aiming down. Psychic energy flowed from her sleeve and into the chambers. The Glaceon pulled her paw back, stopping and changing the spear’s course. This time, the spearhead was heading for Catherine’s back.

The Glaceon looked up and grinned. A quick flash of Catherine being impaled played in her mind. She then slammed her paws together, launching the spear upward, where Catherine would soon to be. Catherine then disappeared from her sight, and away from the spear’s way. That grin quickly deteriorated as well.

Everything afterward suddenly moved slower to the Glaceon. Her heart nearly stopped when a thud was played by her side. In her peripheral vision, Catherine was recovered from a fall and the hand holding Anima was rising in the same motion as an uppercut. The air around the Glaceon gathered into a thin sheet of ice around the barrel and stopped the gun from moving closer. Catherine then pulled the trigger.

The bullets broke opened the ice formed on the barrel and head to the Glaceon’s chest. Her suit absorbed some of the impact force but the shots were too close to get away unhurt. The sound of her ribcage’s vibration echoed to her skull. She couldn’t feel anything there in a brief moment. But when then the signal was sent to her brain. Her head was flooded with agony and the demand for a scream, which she did, before getting knocked down and held her chest, breathing painfully. Catherine withdrew her hand and breaking the sheet of ice, dropping the shards on the dusty ground. She then pointed Anima at the Glaceon, charged up another shot. The Glaceon gritted her teeth and lifted her head up quickly, making the shards on the ground stood up.

“Oh shit!” Catherine exclaimed before doing a backflip. With another turn of the Glaceon’s head, the shards flew upward. Quite a few scratched Catherine legs and one struck the back of her left leg directly. Catherine landed, performed a teleport to get away from the Glaceon as far as possible. She then crouched down and took the shard the size of an arrowhead out of her leg.

Both then stood up. The Glaceon’s paw left her chest and pointed toward the shards. Catherine dropped and deconstructed Anima. The Glaceon paw lifted up and made the shard flew into the air. Catherine quickly got The eye assault rifle in her grasp. The Glaceon moved her paw down, calling the shards to rain down on Catherine. With an enthusiastic. “Suck on this.” Catherine pulled the weapon’s trigger. The rifle bullets quickly outnumbered and destroyed all the shards. Catherine worked through the recoil and pulled the assault rifle down, letting the bullet come for Glaceon. Seen Catherine’s intention, the Glaceon had created a thick wall of blue ice and stopped the electrified bullets. Behind the wall, the Glaceon covered her suit in small pieces of ice, serving as makeshift armor.

From Catherine’s end, the Glaceon slid out with ice formed on her leg. It helped her going toward Catherine at high speed. In her right hand was a silver submachine gun with the Infinity symbol. The other hand had the broken chunk of ice taken from the wall, which was suspended in front of her paw. The Glaceon fired her weapon at Catherine, creating a short burst of white energy shot rather than actual bullets. Catherine’s barrier gladly took them. The barrier energy was drained but not as fast at the cannon’s shots. And soon the weapon overheated. Catherine continued firing her weapon at the Glaceon. The shots were spread and most just ended up on the chunk of ice, a few hit the Glaceon. However, the suit just made the electricity useless and reduced the bullets’ force. The Glaceon was getting closer with the block of ice. Catherine then focused on the block instead. She was going to destroy it with bullets and gave the Glaceon the back of her hand. Ice chunks were breaking off. Bits of it was falling on the ground. However, Catherine’s new plan had to be terminated as the assault rifle’s magazine ran out. _“Maybe not.”_ she thought. Catherine put the weapon on her waist, her leg changed position, ready for a quick teleport and sucker punch the ice type from the plank. The Glaceon spit icy air from her mouth and froze Catherine feet in place, making it impossible to teleport.

“Oh, you Bitch!” Catherine said before putting her hand together and covered her arms with a bright purple glow. The ice block hit Catherine barrier, shattered it immediately. It went on and hit Catherine’s left arm, making her curled up her body a bit under the force. The Glaceon was surprised to see Catherine still standing after the blow. She tried to fire her submachine gun but it was still recharging.

Catherine’s psychic glow then infested the ice block and held it in place. She then recovered from the sudden heaviness and threw a psychic charged uppercut to the Glaceon’s chest, right where Anima hit from before. The hit sent the ice type to the air with a painful scream. Instance before she could get a charge to shoot Catherine in the face.

While the Glaceon was busy falling down, Catherine got herself ready to retaliate. She took the weight off her arm by wrapping the ice block in the psychic glow and threw it at the Glaceon. The block hit her head when she was about to land on the ground. A direct insult to injury. Without savoring that moment, Catherine summoned her Cerberus shotgun and used the fire orb to melt the ice on her feet. The shot melted the ice but also burn her shin and boot a little. She let out a grunt and took away the hurt with a mental block. She jumped off the remaining ice and ran toward the Glaceon, who was barely getting up. Catherine pumped the shotgun and fired it at the Glaceon.

The Glaceon’s paw touched the ground, creating a wave of thick ice crystal spikes from below. The first spike took the fire orbs and the consecutive ones were coming for Catherine in a straight line. “Damn it!” Catherine side dodged, and teleported backward as the spikes were following her.  When they stopped coming, Catherine fire some more shots at the Glaceon. The Pokémon had recycled the block Catherine thrown at her into a shield to defend herself from the fire orbs. The block covered most of her body, but not her feet. One orb slipped through and hit the Glaceon’s leg, burned a part of her suit and transferred the heat to the skin. The Pokémon dropped on her feet and stapled the ice shield to the ground. She let out a scream while Catherine advanced. But soon that scream changed into a cry of absolute rage. The Glaceon concentrated the ice cloud to her right paw, while her left control the spikes on the ground. “Take this!” The Glaceon said. The spikes levitated and threw themselves directly at Catherine.

Catherine stopped her advancement, her eyes glowed in bright purple. She dropped the gun and channeled her Psychic power to her hand. She swiped her right hand. A thick but small transparent piece of psychic glass appeared in front of her, deflecting two oncoming spikes. Then with another swipe of her hand, the old sheet disappeared and created another sheet to block a different spike. The Glaceon stopped the remaining spikes in mid-air. She put her paws together and made the spikes spinning on themselves. With a clap of her paw, she flung the spike at Catherine with much greater speed.

She dropped her barrier and charged up her Focus Blast. When the barrage of spike drills came at Catherine, she teleported to her left, dodging them. When she exited her teleportation, she found herself in a shorter distance than expected. “Shit! Ran out of juice.” She cursed in her head before one last spike bypassed her barrier and hit her in the chest, below her collar bones. It crushed one of the metal buckles on her coat and stabbed into Catherine’s newly healed skin. The spike connected to Catherine rib cage and pushed her back with great force. Several lines drawn in blood began to run from the tip of the spike and ran downward. Catherine opened her mouth, let a chunk of blood escape her system and landed on the spike. Catherine bit down her teeth, refusing to scream like the Glaceon and stood her ground. Hands still keeping the Focus Blast.

“Yes,” The Glaceon said before pushed her paw forward with a devilish smile under her helmet. The spike then slowly dug deeper in front of Catherine’s very eyes. When the orange blast she held in her left hand was ready, she released it at the Glaceon. The Glaceon dashed to her right and let the orb passed by, went on and exploded at the wall behind her. The Glaceon continued pushing the spear deeper into Catherine. Catherine grasped the spear with her hands, trying to pull it out. The spear then slowly froze her hands while moved in deeper. Catherine could feel it trying to split and break her ribs open. When she started to feel it touched her intestine, she closed her eyes.

_“Hey, dying here. Can I have some of that fuck-you-up now?”_

_“Are you certain? You always tell me not intervene with, everything. But fine, here it is, keep us alive will you?”_

Catherine's hair began to grow longer, reached past shoulder length and almost to her waist. The tip of the ice spike moved backward and started to melt. Catherine’s hole in the chest and sleeves released a dark purple aura that heated up the air around her. Like a living creature, the aura crawled along and covered her hands. It melted the ice and freed her hands from the spike. Catherine's eyes opened, revealing them to have the same color. The Glaceon was terrified to see that and stepped back. She continued to push the spike into Catherine. The aura around Catherine's hands abruptly grew massive and engulf the spike, turned it into vapor. Catherine then cracked the joints in her neck and popped her aura drenched knuckles. Catherine let out a snarl and said in a deeper voice. “Any last word?”

Without hesitation, the Glaceon pulled her paws backward. The spikes from before flew up from the ground and began to spin again. They made a return behind Catherine with the same speed at before. Catherine’s intimidating but unknowing expression made the Glaceon felt relatively confident. But then it disappeared when Catherine turned into a long streak of dark purple cloud. “Boo,” Catherine whispered to the Glaceon right ear before delivered a blow to the Glaceon’s temple. Catherine's fist created a metal cracking sound when it came to contact with the Glaceon’s helmet. Before the Glaceon could do so much as waving her paw at Catherine, she felt a ringing sound on the left side of her helmet, completely stunned her. She lost control over the spikes and they dropped on the ground. What she could see from her helmet visor then was that streak of dark cloud moved from her left and in front of her. In the middle of the cloud was a blurred image of Catherine kneeling down with her left fist away from the Glaceon sight. “You think that can stop me?” Catherine was still keeping that voice. And suddenly, the Glaceon felt a blunt object struck her stomach as Catherine began to move up. The distance between Catherine and the Glaceon grew longer as she was sent to the air by Catherine jump uppercut.

When the Glaceon began to fall down, Catherine summoned Lady Death and Anima. With the aura jumped into the chambers at lightning speed, she spun the cylinders and fired the two pistols like a pair of machine guns. The psychic bullet juggled the Glaceon up and keeping her in the air. Bored with that after a few second, Catherine deconstructed the two pistols and teleported on top of the Glaceon. With both her feet on the chest and stomach, Catherine pushed the Glaceon down, crashing her to the ground.

With the dark aura went under her boots, Catherine was levitating on the air. She lifted her left hand up, channeling a Focus Blast. The Glaceon called the spikes that missed from earlier and made them all surrounding her. When the orb reached that high pitch humming sound, Catherine said. ‘You pathetic fool, Focus Slam.’ and launched it at the ground. The Glaceon quickly morphed the spikes into a shield and raised it up. The orb then hit the shield, triggered a massive explosion covered by a large dust cloud. A moment later, Catherine could feel the shockwave blew against her coat and hair as she slowly got down on the ground.

(Song ended)

When her metal tipped boots made contact, she didn’t even bother to look back at the place the Focus Slam hit. Catherine immediately knotted her hands tight up and closed her eyes (focus on restraint). Her hair grew shorter and the aura on her arms and feet began to return back to her body. When the last bit of them disappeared, Catherine released the grip and relaxed her body. After that, she drew a long breath. “Damn, I don’t know how to feel about that.” She said in her regular tone and the voice in her head answer. _“How about grateful? Is that guilt? Why? She threw the first attack and didn’t bother answering you. And don’t lie to yourself, you did want to kill her, didn’t you.”_

“Not anymore.” She twisted her body a bit, produced a cracking here and there. She turned around. “Well, it was fun I give you that, Glaceon. Don’t give me crap when I meet you there in hell, okay?” She said with a smile on her face. However, that smile faded away when the dust settled, revealing a crater with a deep hole in the middle. “Oh, C’mon.” Catherine then felt the vibration under her feet. And that feeling in her gut again said she should teleport away. She followed its suggestion. A large crystal of ice then rose from the ground where she was. The crystal vibrated and the Glaceon broke free from it, sending numerous ice shrapnel in a short distance. The ice type got back on her feet. Her helmet was completely destroyed and her suit was torn. “Wow, you are stubborn, aren’t you?” Catherine picked up her shotgun with a psychic pull. Dusted it off and reloaded the weapon.

The Glaceon walked forward. Her movement was staggered and looked drunk.

“Hey bitch, are you okay? You look pretty beaten up. Want me to change that into completely fucked up or getting a one way trip to Oblivion?” Catherine said. The Glaceon still limped toward her after calling an ice spear to her hand. She could barely go in a straight line while holding it. Catherine chuckled and put Cerberus behind her back. She then teleported beside the Glaceon and kicked the weapon out of the ice type’s hand. The spear went upward, leaving the Pokémon dumbfounded. Catherine, without any second thought, changed her stance and struck the Glaceon in her chest, propelled the Pokémon a short distance and dropped flat on the ground.The Glaceon struggled to get up. “Here, let me assist you.” Catherine grabbed the Glaceon arm, pulled her up. When the Pokémon backed on her feet, she encased the Glaceon in the psychic glow and threw her to the wall. Fortunately for the Glaceon, either Catherine’s blood loss had made her aim off or she was feeling pity for the Pokémon for Catherine had failed to make her hit the wall directly.

Catherine walked slowly toward the Glaceon, shotgun in hand. The ice type spat out blood and sweated like melting away in the heat. “You know, you could just hide underground and I might have let you go. But if you made the god damned effort to reappear for round two, make it worth my fucking time.” Catherine said before pumping her shotgun.

The Glaceon crawled to the wall and rest her back against it. “How can you work for such monsters?” The Pokémon said with a bloody string coming from her mouth.

“Listen, you little bitch, I worked for a lot of Pokémon. Be fucking specific. But first, answer me this, what are you doing here?”

“Stopping you, that’s what.” She spat at Catherine's feet.

Catherine looked down. “You are lucky that didn’t hit my shoe. So, why would you want us to stop hiring Pokémon?” She pointed the Cerberus barrels at the Glaceon.

“Hiring? Is that what he calling it? Haha.”

“What’s so funny?” Catherine pumped her shotgun again.

“Catherine do not kill her.” The voice of Anna’s hologram said. Catherine turned around with shotgun still pointed at the Glaceon. She saw the engineer with the hologram by his side. His hand was holding a small rusted pistol from the mechs.

“Go back inside you fuckers. It’s dangerous. Who knows, what this bitch can do? And who do you think you are?”

The Glaceon looked past Catherine's shoulder and saw the Minccino engineer, she said under her breath. “That’s not him.”

“What did you say? I couldn’t hear it. Was it, “please spare my life?”,”The Glaceon turned her face away from Catherine. Her eyes wide open in realization.The hologram signaled the Minccino to approach both Catherine and the Glaceon. He did so with absolute precaution. “Hey, do you know who she is?” Catherine asked the hologram.

“No, but judging from her attire, she must be an elite from the Infinity.”

“Eh? What?

“Technically speaking, their version of our Foundation.”

“Heh, nice, corporate competition.”

“This was a mistake.” The Glaceon said, clearer and louder this time.

“Yeah, can you clear something up? Cause, I’m confused as fuck. Do that or I’ll kill you.”

The hologram said. “Please don’t do it. We would gain nothing if you do so. Give her some time.”

“Not necessary,” Catherine said and stepped closer to the Glaceon, who moved away ever so slowly. Catherine opened her left hand, rolled up her left sleeve. She then letting her psychic glow took over. The bright purple one this time. “I haven’t done this for a while so it will hurt, lot.”

But then a small object was flung from the wall and landed in front of Catherine. “The Fuck?” The object had Catherine surprised as it exploded into a bright white light. Catherine's eyes were blinded by the light, while her ears were ringing. Catherine rubbed her eyes ferociously, getting her vision back. When she could see again, the Glaceon was no longer alone. Beside her were other Eeveelutions with different suits (with color that matched their element) standing around her. And like the Glaceon, all were standing on their hind legs. A Flareon with the orange and red suit was aiming a shotgun attached to her paw at Catherine. An Umbreon with a full black suit got her sniper rifle’s laser sight at Catherine’s head. And an Espeon with a purple suit was kneeling beside Glaceon, whispering something to her.

“Oh look it’s the “Asuna Robo-girl dance squad” that the Arcadians fanboy over,” Catherine said while slowly stepped back. She asked herself _“Seriously”_ for utter an obscure reference that she had “learned” from the Outland recently. Her left hand instructed the engineer holding the hologram to back down as well while the fully loaded shotgun was still aiming at the Glaceon.

“Three against one? I like that odd.” Catherine said before charged up a Focus Blast in her left hand. She aimed the attack at the Umbreon and the shotgun at the Flareon.

“Let be wise here, Kirlia. We do not wish to fight you and you wouldn’t want to fight us.” The Umbreon said.

“That debatable. If your bitch of a friend over there haven’t thrown the first punch, I would have thought of having a nice conversation over a nice cold drink.”

“You little.” The Flareon said before pumping the shotgun with her other paw.

“Firona, stop.” The Espeon said, back still turned to Catherine. “There’s nothing here, returning to base. Icelyn needs help immediately.” The Espeon continued before holding her paw in the sky. All the eeveelution slowly became intangible and disappeared from Catherine’s sight.

“What the fuck is that all about?” Catherine said before taking a quick breath and wiped her forehead with her sleeve. Dampened it afterward. When her legs felt like collapsing, the Minccino approached her.

“Thank you for saving my life.” He dropped on his knees and bowed to her.

“Don’t do that shit. Get up, it’s nothing. It’s what an agent should do. But yeah, could you give me some water? I feel dry all of the sudden.”

The Minccino got up. “Sure thing, I still have some inside.”

“Good.” Catherine then turned to the hologram. “So, does this mean, I’m not gonna get paid? Since, you know, we got nothing from this. The dance squad is gone and everyone else is gone and all.”

“Not quite, agent 364. There were complications that you couldn’t control. If anything you will get your payment, just not the one you expect, however. And all is not lost. You have fended off our rival in an attempt to capture this engineer. Beating an elite is something rather, impressive.”

“Don’t kiss my ass. That bitch picked the wrong time and place to show up. A hot afternoon and this part of the Outland don’t mix well with ice types.”

“She probably didn’t expect combat but impressive nonetheless. And we still have the machine in our possession. All that will be written in the report. If this young man decided to forgive your earlier behavior, then I will not report and delete your earlier attitude from my memory bank. But just this once.”

“I forgive you. That is what I could do for protecting me. But please find out who is behind all this and rescue my friends.”

The hologram said, “Worry not. I will give a full report on this to the boss for investigation. Hoping that we could shed some light on this.”

He then turned to the hologram. “I don’t know if this still counts but I agree to work for Genesis. Look like the only place for me to be safe for now.”

“Yes, it still counts. You just need to fill some legal paperwork right here.” The hologram projected the image of a tablet on her hand. “I will help you with these. In the meantime, 364, please kindly collect the jamming device.”

“On it.”

Catherine moved to the center of the yard. She opened her palm in front of the device and then encased it with the psychic glow and pulled it out like an oversize weed. She whispered to herself. “Looks like everything just a got a little bit more complicated.”

* * *

 

Author's notes:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is my first ever story so please forgive any possible mistake in the future and help me fix them.

Thanks again and have a pleasant day.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. They belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. The songs I reference here belongs to their respective artists as well. With that out of the way, please enjoy this piece of fanfiction.

* * *

 

Catherine exited the Assignments Center with the credit card in her hand and a look of dissatisfaction on her face. Her coat's top buckle was still missing but the hole in her chest had been patched up by blood-soaked bandages. A voice came to her general direction. “Hey, Catherine. How are ya doing?”

Catherine turned her head and saw Rick was coming her way, she saluted him. “Hey.” She said.

“You look a bit, eh, I don't know what to call that face. What happened?”

“Nothing, just disappointed I guess. I was promised to have something nice for my effort and I get jack shit.”

“What did you do?”

“I just straight up kicked an Infinity elite's ass.”

The Emboar recoiled with surprise. “On your own? Damn. And you got wounds to show for too.” He gave her a thumb up, earning a grin from her. “I did something like that a few times, usually, net an A or S rank.”

“Usually?”

“Well, depends on a lot of things. What did they tell you about your case?”

“They said that there had been some complications. And my encounter with that elite could have been a misunderstanding. Worse, it could have caused some kind of shit storm. Wrap things up, there will be some investigation until the reward or a fine could be given. But I call bullshit on that, she shot first.”

“Complications, huh?” The Emboar shift his view slightly to the left, his arms crossed.

“Okay, I have never asked this to an Emboar before but fuck it, what's on your mind?”

With her insulted his intelligent, Rick said. “Dude, that's hurts. But Nah, I'm over that. It just that I had been gathering up some information this afternoon.”

“Gathering information huh?” Catherine gave him a sideway glance. “You've been to the bar right?”

Rick was surprised, _“How did she knows”,_ he thought. “Ehhh, yeah. That's the only place to get quick info around here. And from what I got, things look pretty ugly this morning. And those things could be the "complications". I'm just trying to find the connection.”

“Hum, is that so? How about you tell me so we can speed things up?”

“Not right now. Have you seen Axel?”

“No, haven't seen him since yesterday. Why?”

“I got a feeling that something bad had happened to him. I was hoping that I could catch you and him here, but now I'm worried.'

Both of then turned their head to the side when a bus arrived. They then saw Axel got off from it. There were burn marks and bruises on his tail and face. His head slightly looked down, thinking something.

“Hey, Ax-hole.” Catherine said and caught his attention.

But after seeing the heaviness in his face, she paused for a moment while Rick ran toward him and said. “Dude, you're here.”

“Yeah, appear so,” Axel said, lacking in spirit.

“Are you okay? You looked like you got crapped on by a Slugma and then rolled over by a Snorlax or something.”

“I'm doing okay.” Axel wiped the burn mark on his face and sighed.

Catherine looked pass Axel shoulder. “Hey, so what happened to your happy go lucky girlfriend? Isn't she with you?”

“Uh, she is in the Medical wing of the Square. She is going to be there for a few days.” Axel said and pointed his thumb behind his back.

“Holy crap! What happened?” Rick said.

“It comes with the job. It's gonna happen to us sooner or later. But don't worry, she is fine now, just needs rest. The doctors and the staffs will make everything okay, I trust them.”

“Wait. You guys were doing assignment within a Genesis's colony right?” Rick said.

“Yes, who told you that?” Axel said.

Rick slapped his forehead, “Holy Arceus’s ball sacks, so what Gwen said was true.”

“She said what?” Axel said.

“How about we talk through this during lunch? It's rather long.”

Axel looked at his watch. “Rick it's 4 in the afternoon.”

“Just call it liner then.”

“Come on Rick. What the fuck? Stop running around the bushes and fucking tell it.”

“Well, sorry, but I haven't eaten anything for a good while. It hard to focus on details when you are hungry.”

“You are not the only one with an empty stomach, you know. Just fucking spill it.”

“On second thought, that could be a good idea.' Axel said and looked around, a few Pokémon were looking at the trio. 'Standing in a crowded place like this might not be ideal. Got to admit, though, I'm hungry too. Spent all day at the Medical wing and all. Hard to think straight. Mercy is staying with Celeste, so no dinner as well. Okay, who's paying this time?”

“I just got a reward from our previous SS rank mission and I'm feeling pretty generous,” Catherine said.

Axel said while trying to make that sly smile again. “Oh really? Good. I expect you to start paying up those IOU from now on.”

“Pf, cheeky asshole.”

(The song "Do the evolution" by Pearl Jam begins to play)

Chesterization proudly presents.

A Pokémon fanfiction

**Genesis**

(Song ends)

**Chapter 7: Reveal**

20 minutes later, they were at the restaurant located on the top floor of the shopping area. Unlike the food court, this one was occupied just by a few Pokémon. Despite this, Rick was still insisted on taking a VIP room for them. He settled Catherine's protest by agreeing to split the bill with her. They chose a private room with a wide window, leather furniture and a marble table with a hologram screen. Catherine said that the whole room was rather unnecessary but Rick assured her that he got a special discount for the owner was one of his "buddies" and he would take care of the additional charges. They settled down and ordered by tapping a few command on the hologram screen. A few seconds after, two Smeargle stepped in and placed their food on the table. Catherine questions would the speed effect the quality of the food. To that, Rick just said, “Judge them yourself.”

Axel got himself a half-full bowl of rice and a bowl of green soup. Rick and Catherine, on the other hand, decided to get two large plates of steak instead. Unlike Rick who just bit and stuffed the food in his mouth, she used knife and fork can cut the steak into pieces first. Lying beside Catherine's hand was a small round bowl of chocolate ice cream. After finish with his plate, Rick asked. “So, are you guys listening?”

Axel said before pouring the soup over the rice. “Rick, that's what we have been doing this whole time.”

“Just cut to the fucking chase so I can eat.” Catherine pointed her knife at him. In her plate were bite size pieces of steak. “I only got two shot of alcohol and a sandwich in my system.”

Rick said. “Just eat it, who would stop you?”

Axel asked. “Who in their right mind drinks alcohol in the morning?”

“I didn't ask for it, them, okay? Just go head and stop the ominous bullshit, Rick. What's so fucking important anyway?” Catherine said before but a piece of steak in her mouth.

Rick said. “Okay. So, ahem. This morning, Gwen told me that 3 Genesis colonies were under attack. All the agents who were on duty in those colonies-doing assignments and what not, they are all got beaten up pretty good and ended up in the Medical wing, heavily injured.”

“Uh huh,” Catherine said, still chewing.

“All of the colonies are near the ” Rick said.

Axel interrupted. “Revived plots of land on the East side of the Outland.”

“Now, I guess it's 4,” Rick said.

Catherine wished to add her case but the colony she was in charge of was a free-lance one. Instead, she asked. “Revived?”

“The land used to be radioactive but Genesis made it habitable again with the rejuvenation process,” Axel said. “Continue Rick.” Axel then pondered, His face looked more troubled than concentrate.

Rick nodded and followed. “Yeah, and we didn't know who or what caught these attack. All that we got is every female, male, and children in the colonies were all gone. The only one left are our agents and none was conscious to tell the tale. You are the only one so far, Axel.”

“I might be, but Celeste is still not,” Axel said.

“Oh yeah. Sorry about that.” Rick said.

“No need. I said don't worry, didn't I?” Axel said.

“So Axel, who is the one that caused the attack at your colony?” Catherine asked, trying to find some connection between them and her case. If he said the word: "bandit" then the fight she had that morning meant.

“The Bandit Kingdom faction,” Axel said.

Catherine bit her lip _. "Oh shit, you had pissed off the company biggest rival. Fuck."_ She then reassured herself _"Maybe not, these are Genesis owned land, what she got was a free-lance, maybe Infinity was responsible for that one.”_ But then she remembers the bandit’s corpse with the crown symbol on his armor. _"Oh shit. I fucked it up."_

 _“What, those deadbeats, Hellfire wannabe? I don't buy it.”_ Rick said.

 _“Buy it or not, those bandits certainly are apparently more than what we gave them credit for. And they are indeed the one that caused the attack at my end anyway.”_ Axel said.

“So these guys are no pushover then,” Rick said.

“Rick, is there any EMP device at the sites of attack?” Catherine asked.

Rick kicked up his eyes brow and said. “Oh yeah, forgot about that. They recovered an old school EMP device in each site.”

“Mine too, they dropped that thing to the colony from a hover plane,” Axel said.

“Catherine, you figured something out?” Rick said.

“No not that. But you can add another one to the list of colonies.”

“What?” Axel and Rick said.

“This morning or rather Noon, I came to a colony of the free-lance worker. It was deserted when I got there, a near ghost town. A single survivor told me that they were under attack and everyone but he was abducted. The only thing I recovered from the place was a flower like EMP device.” Catherine said.

“Really? There is no way it could be a coincidence.” Rick said.

“Why didn't you tell us about this earlier?” Axel said.

“I was seeing if there were enough common details before telling. Look like we got enough.” Catherine said before filled her mouth with another piece of steak.

“But you said you kicked an elite's ass this morning,” Rick said.

Catherine swallowed and continued. “Yes, after I had discovered the survivor, I found an elite sniffing around at the EMP device. I asked a question but the bitch was like, shoot first and answer never. So I did the most logical thing I could think of, kicking her ass.”

“Oh, great. Are you sure that was for self-defense?” Rick said.

“Who gives a fuck? Only us were there, believe whatever side you want.” Catherine said, before chewing on her steak.

“Maybe, it's not a bad thing, Rick. You got to ask the question. What was an Infinity elite doing at a recently deserted free-lance colony?” Axel said.

Catherine thought to herself. _"Someone on my side, good."_

Rick said. “But, what if,”

Axel said. “Too soon to make any conclusion. Maybe they are involved, maybe not. But one thing for sure is that the Bandits Kingdom did the attacks. The abduction of colonists, the EMP devices, all fit.'

Rick said. “Then, how about you letting us know about the attack at your end. You saw it first hand, maybe we can get a better picture of things from that.”

“Sure, I planned to anyway.” Axel drank some of the soup. Catherine finished the last piece of steak and both her and Rick focused their vision on Rick. “It's all started this morning. Celeste and I were doing a few C and B rank assignments at the G16 colony. You know, maintaining the security system, delivering a few equipment, giving guidance and all at.”

Around 11 AM that day.

Axel and Celeste were at a colony positioned in the middle of a gray dusty field. It had the same structure at the one Catherine was going to be in later that day. It had buildings surrounded by high walls and a large yard in the middle. This one, however, was much bigger than the other. It had an actual greenhouse, more buildings, and bigger turrets at the gate. Everything around the colony had the same white paint job and design as the buildings in the Delta base's Square. In the middle of the yard were two personal pods and a dozen metal containers. A few of those containers were opened and a Machop or two were unloading various equipment from them. At the ground floor of a building, Celeste was teaching a group of small Pokémon some kind of activity. There were giggles, laughter coming from the place, making the atmosphere around the colony livelier.

Axel was hanging on a section near the front gate. His vines were wrapping around a reinforced antenna. He was welding something in the circuit board hidden behind the wall. A few drop of sweat ran across his forehead and his eyes focused on the task at hand. A Buizel exited one of the turrets and walked to the antenna. He held to the antenna and looked down. “Hey, is everything okay there?” He asked Axel.

“Yeah, it’s fine. Just a need a few tweak here and there. Tell the kids not to throw anything at this thing, okay? The big red light on this alarm is quite, tempting.”

“Our kids know better than that, thank you very much. So you are almost done with it?”

“Yup,” Axel said before gently pushed the circuit into the wall and closed the cover with a big red light attached to. “And now I'm done.”

“Great. That's security part done for today. Let's take a lunch break before moving on to other things.” The Buizel said.

Axel then said. “Sure, clear the way. I'm going up.” The Buizel stepped back and gave the signal to Axel. He then retracted his vine and quickly get on the wall. “So, how were the turrets?” Axel said.

“Everything is good. The calibration software has been fully installed and running smoothly.” The Buizel said.

“Good. That's will make the bandits think twice about attacking you. Hell, those things won't even give them the chance to think of attacking you guys.” Axel said.

“Thank you. You don't know how much that means to us.” The Buizel said.

Axel showed his palms. “Don't mention it. It is what we at Genesis do.”

The sound of children laughter reached their location.

“I haven't heard laughter like that for a long time.” The Buizel said.

“Celeste is a nature with that kind of thing. She can make living in an underground base with no nature sun light feel like having a vacation in past Essal. Wouldn't be hard for her to make a child laugh.”

“Indeed. Good to see someone could do more than just fixing a few circuits”

“Maybe we could visit you guys often. Just post a lot of assignments and we will do it exclusively for you with a discount. Just don't make strange assignments or Genesis will call scam on us.” The Buizel laughed. “I was serious on that one,” Axel said.

“Okay, but thanks. That will help us and the children a lot.” The Buizel then paused. Things are always rough for the kids. Even the most active ones couldn't even stay like that for long. We were thinking of sending them to the Square and just let us stay here to fix the land. Yet they chose not to leave us. It was hard seeing they made that kind of choices.”

“You all can always move back to the Square with them.”

“No, someone has to do this. And we are willing to change Essal for the better. Compare to those who suffered in the war, we had it good.”

“And I respect that.” Axel wiped the sweats on his forehead. “Let's grab lunch and.” The alarm that Axel had just fixed went off. From the left side of the colony, a loud engine noise was heard. A moment later, a large black helicopter was approaching the colony. It had two engines on its wings, each powered two rotating rotors. On the haul was a pray-painted symbol of a crown. “We're under attack. Everybody get to safe rooms, now!” Axel yelled from the wall and get his rail gun out. There were panic screams from the yard, but Celeste spoken instructions soon replaced them.“Frank. Get the mechs ready.” Axel said after loaded a shell inside and took aim.

The Buizel nodded and grabbed a remote strapped behind his back. He then turned a key to released a cover on a red button. Without delay, he pressed it, sending a signal for humanoid robots inside the containers to come out with assault rifles in their hands, immediately aiming at the plane and fire without any other command.

Axel raised his gun, took aim and fired his rail gun at the glass cockpit. The gun threw Axel back from the shot, nearly made him lose balance. The shell launched from it instantly impacted the glass, ate a clean hole on the glass and escaped from the upper dome of the cockpit. The plane jerked to the right in a panic, shaking but then quickly shifted back to its original position. A hatch in the belly of the helicopter opened, revealing a large cannon. The weapon's barrel began to spin, produced a threatening hum.

The sound of shifting gears was heard behind Axel as the turrets rotated. Seen the turrets on the gate were aiming at the plane. The plane hovered to a different location, instances before the turrets began to shoot. The plane dodged the attacks from the slow moving turrets. The cannon in its belly was still charging up. Axel shot another round at the cannon, but the spastic movement helped it avoid the shell. With a frustrated grunt, Axel loaded in another shell.

“Axel, a convoy is heading our way.” The Buizel said and pointed.

“Shift the turrets to them. We can take care of the plane from here.” Axel said before aiming at a different part of the plane, one of its engines.

“Got it.” The Buizel said before heading back into one of the turret. Said turret quickly changed its interest to beyond the gate, firing at a large convoy with a dozen of trucks. All of the vehicles were armored to the wheels with large plates of scrap metal and spikes. One side of their windshields were graffiti of the very same crown symbol. The first few trucks were instantly smashed by the shots and slowed down the line of vehicles behind them.

A bang came from Axel's rail gun and the right engine on the plane was shattered, sending the helicopter into a disorientated flight path. The cannon on its belly stopped charging and fired a large object at high speed. The recoil from the cannon pushed the vehicle back and making things harder for the remaining pilot to control it. The launched object spun in the air above the colony and was suddenly suspended by an invisible force. The object was a rusted EMP device folded in the form of a large bullet, some kind that Catherine could see later that day. Axel shot another rail gun shot at the other engine, rendered the plane useless and falling out of the colony air space. A few bandits jumped out from the side doors of the helicopter and get inside the colony. The bandit easily fell through the invisible barrier and landed in the yard. In a second, all the mechs aimed for the bandits’ heads with deadly accuracy and fired without warning, executing them.

The EMP device then opened its back, revealing an afterburner. The burner soon ignited and pushed the device deeper inside, overcoming the invisible force. The device passed through the barrier's restraint and hit the dusty ground with a loud crash, destroying a mech and a bullet-riddled body of a bandit. The device opened its "petals" and released an electric shock wave that short-circuited the mechs immediately.

Catherine interrupted the recall.

“So, let's see.” Catherine got a spoon full of ice cream in her mouth. “Bandits with EMP device of unknown origin.”

“More like unclear,” Rick said.

“Pff, big fucking diff. So, they dropped the thing in the center of the colony, pretty much neutered all the defense systems. And they just come in, take the colonists and ride off into the sunset.” Catherine said.

“With our agent outnumbered and outgunned as this kind of assignments require just one or two agents. As the result, the whole process is easy as taking candy from a Happiny. So,” Rick said.

Axel interrupted Rick. “Not exactly like that from my end, though. Genesis had previously created a material that could protect important machinery from the effect of EMP. And that material was all over the colony I and Celeste stationed in, so we and the colonist managed to put up a fight.”

“Huh? Sounded like you should have it all under control.” Rick said.

“No, that was what we thought,” Axel said.

“So when did the shit hit the fan?” Catherine said.

Axel said with an angry glare in his eyes. “When he showed up.”

“It's an EMP!” Frank said after getting out from the other turret, which was still active and keeping the convoy at bay, in his hand was now a pistol.

“I know. But the other defenses should hold. Just join everyone in the safe rooms now, Frank.” Axel said.

“No way, I'm not letting you fight them alone.”

“I'm not. I got Celeste down there and these turrets. Just get there and hope that you don't need to fire that gun.”

“But.”

The sound of helicopters was quickly approaching, sounded like a swarm of giant metal wasp above their head.

“No time for argument, once the barrier break, you'll become an easy target with that pea shooter. Just go now!”

“Okay, good luck.” The Buizel said before hastily climbing down the ladder.

Three helicopters then entered the area. They were armed to the teeth with cannons and missiles launchers. The turrets were still focusing on the convoy from afar. The trucks had begun to turn back, but the turret didn't let up their long range attack. The helicopters then fired salvos of missiles and machine gun fire toward the colony. The missiles slamming against the barrier and exploded in balls of electricity. The sound of loud static filled the colony and the invisible barrier was slowly revealed in each missile hit.

Axel fired his rail gun as fast as he could, damaging the helicopters and interrupting their attacks. These helicopters appeared to have stronger armor compare to the plane. Celeste took cover behind a large metal container and joined in by fired a few rockets from her single shot launcher. Her rockets had less speed compare to the ones the bandit used, making it easy for the helicopter to dodge. However, her rockets didn't need to hit the target to actually explode. They just gain in close with the helicopter and then went off, spreading a cloud of the green corrosive substance near the helicopters. The green cloud touched the helicopters and melted their armor at a rapid rate. The side door on the helicopters opened. Strings of wire were dropped down from the doors and a few Raticate bandits slid down to the yard, very near Celeste. The Sylveon instantly used Quick Attack to land a full metal punch on a Raticate front teeth, knocking the teeth out in a bloody mess. While the Raticate was shocked to see his blood-covered teeth on the ground, she quickly got behind his back, used her ribbon feelers and left arm to hold him in front like a meat shield. The Raticate squirmed and tried to break free. She opened the tip of her mechanical fingered, revealing a sharp needle. 'Please, behave.' She whispered before jabbing the needle to his neck, and the Raticate sound became dead weight. With this meat shield, she moved back to a better location, all while shooting the other bandits with a pink pistol. The bandits care little for their allies and blindly fired their gun at her. Celeste then carefully took aim at a bandits head while charging her pistol. The shots from the bandits’ assault rifle drained her barrier. Yet that didn't worry her as she still got the Raticate. The bullets hit the Raticate. The Pokemon still didn't move but his eyes opened in terror. He tried to open his mouth for a scream but everything in his body beside his eyelids and pain receptors was shut down completely. Soon, his eyes close after his rib cage was exposed. She then fired her gun, sending an overheated bullet to the bandits head. The bullet entered through the skull, stayed there for a brief moment before blowing the bandits head clean off. The other stopped for a split second to look at the mess that used to be ahead. One of them got his head shattered by four or five shot of Celeste's pistol. The helicopters began to drop more bandits into the field. Some of which were descending behind Celeste's back.

Axel switched the rail gun for a sniper rifle. Axel pulled the handle and fired sniper rounds down at the bandits, both on the wires and in the yard. The bullets crushed their skulls, spraying brain, blood, and flesh all over. Axel gave her the gesture to leave the bandits to him. She nodded and dropped the Raticate to the ground, not before putting a bullet to the back of his head. She quickly ran back to a better cover and loaded those corrosive grenades to her gun then continued firing. One of Celeste's grenade exploded near the tail of a helicopter and dissolved the section connecting the back rotor and the main body. In five second, the substance completely eaten that part, cutting the tail off, sending that one helicopter out of control. End result making it rammed to the other and then rammed to the other. The helicopters lost all control and fell on the invisible barrier, putting a heavy strain on it, making static sound grow louder.

The remaining bandits inside the helicopters immediately jumped out the helicopter and free falling. Celeste loaded a new grenade and fire at the bandits that bypassed the barrier. The grenade exploded created a long chain of blue lightning that passed and linked from bandits to bandits. They screamed when the jolts hit them. And screamed even louder when they fell to the ground. All were suffered from muscle spasm like mad. Celeste loaded a new grenade and smiled. She shot at the group of bandits on the ground. The grenade went off as it touched one of the bandits and covering a large radius with fire, letting all the bandits die in the flame, screaming.

The colony's barrier snapped off and let the helicopters' remain fall through. They were coming to the turret wall. Axel immediately jumped off. His orange shock-absorb barrier activated, making him falling at a sluggish rate. The helicopters pieces crashed into the wall and destroyed the turrets. Axel looked behind him, the scrap metal that stayed still, covering the turrets that he had spent half an hour reprogram. Without his knowing, the remaining fuel and ammunition inside the wreckage meet the sparks from exposed wire, created a massive ball of flame followed by a booming shock wave. The shock wave and heat abruptly reached Axel and threw his barrier off. He soon landed back first on the hard ground. Another explosion was triggered, most likely come from the other helicopter, sending debris all over the place. Axel couldn't hear anything after that explosion but he could fell a sharp pain cutting into his left side. He lifted his head up and looked. A large shrapnel was there, pierced into his body. Axel sighed and grabbed the base of the shrapnel and slowly but firmly yanked it out. It was not in too deep, only a third of its length was in his body. He then threw it on the ground and took a long breather. He then held the wound and slowly got up. The ears inside his head were still ringing. Other than the pain at his side, Axel did not feel anything, even the ground under his feet. He started walking, which suddenly became hard. Celeste then ran to him and said something that he couldn't hear. She then held his head, looked at the sides, lifted his hand up and checked the wound. She summoned a spray can mark with a pink cross and applied it to the wound, that made a great deal of pain surged through him but he had worse. The tips of her other finger opened, this time, was a set of smaller needles. She gently pushed the needles tips to his neck. At first, Axel couldn't feel those needle but soon he could. Those and the burning pain in his side. And then he could hear the sound again.

“Hey, Axel can you hear me now? Hello?”

“Yes, I can.” he said and shook his head.

“Sorry for the explosion, didn't think of that.” She said while looking at the wreckage.

“It's okay, but get into position, I don't think that was the last of them,” Axel said before letting his hand touched the ground. Large thorn vines sprouted up and covered the doors around the colony buildings. Axel's eyes close after the vines had settled. Celeste did not give him a chance to lay down as she jabbed a needle to his back, making his eyes open and he stood up again.

“Why, do you need to do that?” Celeste said.

“Just to make sure. I can retract them later.” Axel said before summoned a syringe and stabbed it near the wound.

The sound of the trucks returned. The engines roared before they rammed to the gate, bending it a bit. The scream of the driver cried out. “We are coming in for ya!” One of the bandits said. A few of them get off the trucks and started climbing up the wall. The moment when their hands touched it, the wall set off its electrical charges and shocked the bandits, dropping them on their trucks, thus making them stop screaming for a while. But soon the bandits get back to climbing, trying their best to endure the shock.

“Let's stop all this pointlessness,” Axel said and took out his fabricate blade.

“Thinking way ahead of ya,” Celeste said and ran to the wall, getting on one of the ladders that barely held on the wall. Axel did the same. They avoided the burning wreckage of the helicopters and turret to find a good spot to observe the bandits outside the gate. They looked down and saw the bandits laying down like a mosquito that had run into an electric net. Celeste summoned one big grenade that got the phrase "Super happy fun time" written in glitter on it. She loaded it up and made signs with her hands, telling Axel to put on his gas mask. After both of their heads were protected by an invisible bubble, Celeste looked at the bandits again. They were still trying to climb on the wall in vain and completely unaware of her and Axel. Kept her head low, she aimed her launcher at the convoy and squeezed the trigger. The launcher threw the grenade in an arc and landed it on one of the truck. The grenade didn't explode but instead released a large amount of yellow smoke. The bandit panic and trying to escape it, but the cloud was expanding too fast and soon it engulfed them. The smoke moved all over and reached all the way to the end of the convoy and some reached back to Axel and Celeste.

A gust of wind came and blew all the yellow smoke away, what left behind was the bandit laying on the ground, on top of and in a few truck. They were still moving slowly and lazily, moaning something under their breaths. “Okay, I'll go finish them off. You stay here and look out. Get to a safe cover before the barrier come back up.”

“Okay, I will.” She nodded and smiled. “Have fun and keep your mask on”

Axel just cracked a grin and vaulted over the leftover parts of the helicopters. He got down from the wall and fell to the other side of the gate. He walked casually to the truck and held tight to his blade.

“I can't feel my head anymore, man.”; “It's like heaven. All my problems suddenly just disappear.”; “Do we suppose to kill someone?” The bandits laying on the ground said in an intoxicated state. Axel raised his blade and cut their heads off.

“Wait, what kind of grenade is that?” Catherine said.

“DMHP,” Axel said.

“Huh?”

“It is not important right now. Let just”

“Basically, weed on steroid,” Rick said.

“Eh, what? As in the thing that Pokémon get high from?”

“Yup, what else?”

“Hm, And how did you not finding your girlfriend a bit creepy?”

“Pardon?” Axel said.

“I don't fucking know, eh, she acts gleeful and childlike but well, to some extend kinda like me in the killing department. Which I like but come on, she got weed for weapons and drug that paralyze but still letting the victim suffer from pain and torture. That's fucking awesome in my book but still a bit creepy nonetheless.”

“Well, if you have any problem with her, just go ahead and talk to her in the hospital,” Axel said.

“Fuck got bitter quick, whatever, just continue,” Catherine said and waved her hand once.

After killing the last bandit in the long line of truck, his blade was dyed from tip to hilt with blood. He shook it before hearing a call on his communicator from Celeste. “Axel, something is happening to the sky.”Axel looked up and saw nothing change, but still, he headed back to the colony, telling Celeste to hide. Then came a strange noise and follow by the sound of a hover plane. “Axel, we got more company,” Celeste said through the comm.

That was the signal for him to run back to the base. “Celeste just lay low, I'm almost there.” He soon heard the sound of Celeste fighting on the communicator, making him turn the thing off and entered his invisible state.

Inside, there was a large plane that nearly covered the air above the colony. Four massive rotors on it were producing flows of strong wind down at the colony, its four side doors were opened. Under it, down at the ground, there were a Sneasel wearing a brightly color jester outfit, a Machamp with heavy scrap armor, on his back and chest were two large speakers, an Eelektross wearing old tires armor and a Zoroark wear the same armor as the Machamp (minus the extra arms holes). All except the Sneasel were wearing a knight helmet. At the right section of the colony, Celeste was fighting a Lucario wearing a metal helmet that covered his entire head except for an eye hole, light metal armor, and a lot of scars on his body. They were trading punches by punches. She was giving everything she got into her hands but the Lucario just blocked them with ease. He let out an unsettling shriek in each block, which constantly throwing her off. Before the other bandits "knights" could join in, Axel caught their attention with a rail gun shot near the Sneasel. The "knight" scattered as Axel continued firing.

In an instance, the Lucario got an open and landed a punch Celeste in her stomach. However, as soon as his bare paw touched her, the fabric on her clothes responded and sprayed a chemical that stunned him. Both recoiled and back away from each other. Celeste took out the pistol shot several bullets to the hole on the helmet. Blood flew out from the hole. The bandits let out incoherent screams and shook violently. Seeing the bandit still standing she shot a few bullet to his heart. The bandits just took it and resume his stance. She switched for her launcher and fire a rocket-propelled grenade in the Lucario chest, sending him all the way across the yard and slammed into the wall with a bang.

Before she could try something else, she heard a *whish* sound followed by a maddening laugh. She was then struck her back. The Sneasel was the culprit but he soon regretted the hit as the chemical from her clothes numbed his arm completely afterward. Celeste recovered from the attack and turned around. She then fired her pistol. The Sneasel's movement was fast enough to evade her shots. With his hand behind his back, he let out a taunting laugh and began dancing on the dusty ground. Celeste fired at his feet but did nothing but making his laugh more irritating to her The Sneasel then kicked sand in her face, throwing her off and making her fire the pistol blindly. And when the magazine ran out her gain in close and raised his claws. But he could not strike her as his claws were stopped by an invisible hand. Before the Sneasel could pull his hand back, something punched him in the nose (somehow produced the noise of a horn). He was then grabbed and thrown away from Celeste. Axel then reappeared in front of her asking whether she was fine.

The Sneasel got up and looked around, asking: “How could he?” as he saw the Zoroark was on the ground holding a cut on his chest. The Machamp got pinned with Axel's sword in his shoulder and he was using his arms to get it out. The Eelektross had slowly regained height with his levitate. The Sneasel felt something ran from his nose and when he touched it, he found blood. Shook them off his hand, the Sneasel laughed and performed Ice shards with an attempt to throw them at Axel. It took him a bit longer to create the shards due to the heat. And when he got them ready, Axel was already on the way to give him a proper beating. He threw the shards which Axel dodged by launched himself into the air. Not giving the Sneasel the chance, Axel shot a Leaf Storm at the ice type. The Sneasel couldn't avoid that one and got tossed along by the green wind.

He got up, feeling his body ache all over. And then Axel hit him on the left side of his face. “Come on, laugh some more,” Axel said as he gave the Sneasel the back of his hand. Before he could do more damage to the Sneasel's face, he was stopped by an electrified whip wrapped around his neck. The weapon shocked him and dropped him on his knees. The Sneasel gave a cheap punch in Axel's face and ran back. He then breathed in relief and hide in a corner. Axel fell on his knees. The Eelektross keep shocking him, making sure that he stay where he was, all the while getting closer to him.

The Machamp got himself up and pulled the sword out of his body. Before he could crush it, the hilt lets out a siren and release and electrical explosion that made the Machamp drop the weapon at reflex. Rubbing his burnt hand against his armor, the Machamp then slowly walked toward Axel. He raised all of his arms, completely cover Axel in his shadow.

And then, came a dart shot straight to the Machamp exposed neck. He let out a series of grunt then fall back and laid flat on the ground with a loud thud. Trail back from the dart and one would know who shot it. Celeste then closed her dart gun again and took aim. “Sorry, Axel.” She said before shooting a dart at Axel. The dart hit him in the back and kicked started an adrenaline rush within him. His body overcame the stun effect of the whip and got up. The Eelektross put more charges into his whip but didn't help. Axel opened his palm and pulled back. The hilt of his sword then flew to his hand. The Eelektross then stop advancing and back off. Axel turned around and sliced off the whip with one strike. The Eelektross dropped the whip to charge up his claws in electricity and charged toward Axel. Axel quickly extended his vines and tie them into a noose. With a quick motion, he boosted toward the Eelektross body and chopped off the electric type left arm, creating an open to get behind him. He then got the vine noose around the Eelektross's neck. While the Pokémon was still screaming from the loss of his arm, Axel twisted the vine and tighten up the noose. Due to the Eelektross's unique body, Axel had to twist the vines dozens of times to block the Eelektross's windpipe. Axel locked it in place with both hand and choked the Pokemon to dead. The Pokémon round mouth opened and closed at the rapid rate but then got slower and slower and then remain open forever.

When Axel dropped the Pokémon to the ground, the Lucario was then walked away from the wall he was pinned into. He then let out a loud screech. Celeste shut him up by shot an inferno grenade at him and let him lay on the ground, face first to the fire.

With no other Pokémon inside, Axel summoned his rail gun and aimed at the plane, prompting Celeste to do the same. Before they could pull the triggers, they were forced to drop the weapon and stood still by an unknown and invisible force. They tried everything in their power to move but couldn't. They stood there like stature for a good long while, giving the bandits to slide down from the plane and point guns at them both in their standstill state. When the bandits finally got the upper hand, then Sneasel jumped out from his hiding spot and stabbed his claw on the head of a Machamp bandit, waking the Pokémon up. He then told something to the Machamp that made the fighting type stand straight and salute with only one hand. The other bandits, who were not in charge of keeping Axel and Celeste in line, followed suit. The Sneasel yelled. “Make way for the Bandit King.” The yell suddenly made the Lucario yanked up from the ground and slowly stood in salute. His fur was burnt, exposing his skin, which was black and red all over. The Zoroark was getting up and saluted as well.

The hatch in the belly of the plane opened. From it, an Alakazam flew or rather levitated down from the plane in a standing straight pose. His left hand was behind his back and his right held a scepter with a large red crystal ball on it. When his slender and skin-wrapped-bones for legs touched the ground, the bandits who are not focused on Axel and Celeste bowed. The Alakazam looked quite different. He had a red gemstone on his head and floating behind his back were five silver spoon and a pink plate. The size of the plate was identical to the steel plate Axel had recovered from the previous day. There was a purple aura swirling around it as well. Around his neck was a crown made of gold, which had a round gem melted into it. His beard was longer and bigger, but the crown on his neck always shine through it. He was wearing clothes resemble those that belonged to royalties of the eighteen century. The fabrics were torn here and there and the blue color had faded. On his chest was a medal with that crown symbol among other medals made from scrap metal. He gently strolled to the middle of the yard.

“Wait what fuck is a Mega Alakazam?' Catherine said. “Sounded like, what the fuck is the stupid thing that kids watch on the television?”

“You mean cartoon?” Rick said.

“Yeah, maybe that. Agh, just screw it. What the hell is mega anyway?” Catherine said and finished her box of ice cream.

“Well, mega evolution is basically you holding a magic and a super duper rare stone that turn you into a jacked up version of yourself. Stronger, faster, weirder, like that Slowbro thing. But it is only temporary, once you lost the stone, you lose the evolution.” Rick told her.

“Not magic but something else. Scientists have been working on it for years. And found out each stone is genetic material of various Pokémon. The origin of these stone is most likely human made.” Axel said.

“Okay, the more I know then. So, the one that fucks everything up for you, is an evolve Alakazam that was also a king of the bandits. Okay, proceed.” Catherine could felt her back shook lightly.

The King let one end of his scepter touched the ground. “What's seem, to be, the problem?” The Alakazam said, calmly and slowly. He then looked at Axel. “Ah, I remember you from the cameras. You and your friends are the ones that broke into my castle, slew my subjects, and interrupted my slumber.”

“It was way past noon. About time for you to wake up your highness.” Axel said.

The Sneasel gritted his teeth and yell. "Thou dare?' but soon Axel's stare shut him up before anything else with a death stare.

The Alakazam laughed heartily. “Haha, good, very amusing. I wonder if you could still do so as our time together, go on?” He then looked at Celeste. “And you, maiden. You are the one that, sabotaged my expedition. What a lovely surprise, to meet you both.”

Axel quickly used his vine and reclaimed the rail gun, taking all the bandits by surprise. He quickly fired the weapon with his vine at the new Pokémon. The Alakazam held his left hand up, a split second before the bullet came to him. The bullet then stopped advancing. Instead, it was hovering in front of the Alakazam, still spinning. “Naughty, naughty.” He said. With a gentle flick of his finger, the tip of the still spinning bullet was then aiming at Axel, whose eyes were wide open and vines were forced the drop the gun as well.

The Alakazam then let out a grin. Axel still felt himself frozen right on the spot, couldn't move his feet at all. A billion questions were circling inside his head regarding this Alakazam leader. The Machamp bandit then hit Axel in the back, making him dropped to the ground. The hold on his body stopped, but before Axel could retaliate, he was pinned down by three assault rifle stocks. “Hm, now, now. Where should this go to?” The Alakazam asked while moving his finger around the bullet. He then looked at the thorn wall and said. '”Be a kind Pokémon and, retract those.”

“And if I refuse?” Axel said. The Alakazam then moved the bullets closer to Axel's line of sight. “Heh, go ahead. Kill me won't make those things come down.”

“Axel,” Celeste said to him, whimpering.

“Kill me or she will trigger an alarm to Genesis. With those walls blocking your way, it going to take you half an hour or more to break through. By that time Genesis would have been here with reinforcement. You would accomplish nothing.”

“Oh, that's right. I nearly forgot. Clever boy.” The Alakazam snapped his fingers and the bullet changed to Celeste. “If that is the case, we have to find some other way, to speed things up then.” He then released his restraint on the bullet and let it went straight to Celeste. Axel tried to escape the bandits and get to her direction. But he couldn't catch anything but a mere cry of pain from Celeste. Axel then got his head slammed by bandits and Celeste fell to the ground. The Alakazam made a gesture allowing the bandits to let go of Axel.

Axel quickly got back on his feet and rushed to Celeste. The Alakazam then teleported in front of him and bashed Axel's face with his scepter. The attack caught Axel off guard and staggered him. With a swift motion, the Alakazam hit him in the stomach and threw him back to the bandits. The Alakazam then instructed the other bandits to gather around Axel and pinned him down once more. The Alakazam taking his time approached Celeste. He slammed his Scepter down and look at her, who was curled up like a fist protesting death. She bit down her teeth and took every painful breath. The Alakazam looked at the hole in the wall behind Celeste, then changed his view to Axel, who was still being pinned down with assault rifle stocks.

“So. Did I have your, attention yet? Such a shame too. I hate hurting, a lady, but at the same time, I hate it when things, failed to follow my command. So please, released the vine walls now. And I will let you both go.” He still spoke softly and slowly. His voice emphasis on each pause. Axel looked at Celeste and put his hand down the ground. With the right focus, he could use the vines against the bandit and catch the King in. “Oh, and please, no game or trick.” He then stepped closer to Celeste. “I know those look. You have to think, of this lady right HERE.” He then slammed his scepter down at Celeste's ribbon, making her scream.

“I don't know what went through Arceus's mind when he created these fresh ribbons. I see no purpose of things like these, just adding vulnerability to you.” He then pushed the scepter down more. “Oh well enough rambling for one day, wouldn't you agree? Let's not waste our time here, and release the vines. The healing serum wouldn't work if you, let a wound like that for too long.” Axel followed through. He touched the ground and the vines slowly retracted back to the ground, allowing the doorways to be seen.

“Good, very good.” He turned to the other bandits. “My loyal subjects, do what you were told. Leave no one behind, beside these two of course.” The Alakazam raised his hand toward Axel. “Let go of him and help your fellow man.”

The bandits around Axel released him. Yet, Axel could still feel the same, if not stronger pressure laying on him. He could even wiggle. Axel then saw the Alakazam pulled his hand back. And soon his feet began to move on their own. Axel tried to resist but it just made every step he took the more painful. When Axel was a few feet away from him, the Alakazam raised his other hand at Celeste, who were nearly pass out from the blood loss. A thin layer of bright purple aura covered her body entirely and lifted her up. He settled her on her feet, her arm was still trying to hold on to the wound on her stomach. The Alakazam then moved two of his finger, making she moved forward and placed her near Axel.

“What should I do with you two? For your crimes, I should kill you both at where you stand. It will be quick and painless. But, I'm an honorable king and I always keep my words. I shall let you go once my man finish with, the business. Besides, I don't blame you. You were just doing what, you were told and I forgive you for once. Take this as a lesson. Do not get in, my way, ever again and you shall be spared.”

The bandits then opened one of the doors. There were screams coming from the inside. And that scream got louder as the Buizel and a few other colonists shot back. The bandits took the bullets and fired tranquilizers from their weapons to subdue everyone inside. The Buizel refused to go down easy and empty out his pistol, got a bandit in the process. His courage, however, was rewarded by a bash to the jaw, knocking him out before the tranquilizer could. The bandits then grabbed the colonist and get them to the gate. The Machamp blasted the gate with a sonic boom from his speaker, loosened the gate. He then used all his strength to forcefully rip open the gate. The bandits then exited with the colonists and putting them on the trucks. A few bandits took out the headless corpses and got behind the driver seats.

“Move it faster. The Genesis's Calvary is coming.” The Sneasel urged the other. The Alakazam then pointed his fingers back at Axel. “This will take a while. How about you both, entertain me in the meantime. Jester.” He called the Sneasel.

“Yes, your highness.” The Sneasel turned around.

“Give us some form of music.” The King said.

“Yes, your highness.” The Sneasel said and bowed.

The Sneasel took out a portable CD player from the back of his clothes and instructed the Machamp to come to him. When the hulking Pokémon was there the Sneasel jumped up. With a quick jab, he connected the player to the speaker on the Machamp's chest. He touched a few commands on the device and turned to the Alakazam. “Now? Your highness.”

“Yes.” The Alakazam said before swiftly moved his fingers. Axel and Celeste moved and faced each other. He then forced Celeste's hand to move away from the wound and straighten her arms. The hole in her stomach was surrounded by running stains of blood. Celeste faced Axel with a grimace. Before the Alakazam could make them bow like a pair of puppets, his ear was blasted by the sound of a long guitar rift, amplified by the gigantic speakers. The noise broke his focus briefly, releasing his control on Axel and Celeste. But before Axel could control his arms and legs, the Alakazam regained control and both resumed to their original poses. The Sneasel took his master's reaction as a signal to stop the music. Before he could apologize, the end of the King's scepter slapped him. “Fool. Something with substance.”

“Apologize, your highness.” The Sneasel bowed once and jumped back on the Machamp

When the sound of piano and violins filled the air, the Alakazam began to swirl his scepter with the music. With his free hand, he controlled Axel and Celeste. He made them bowed and waltzed to the music. Their movement was quick, precise and graceful. However, that couldn't hide Celeste's pain. She was shaking her hands and cried out in pain in each step she took, she almost passed out from the pain as she was moved closer to Axel. Her blood dripped down from his jacket. And the Alakazam’s control also couldn't stop Axel from gritting his teeth and glaring with hate and regret.

The Alakazam said then tapped his scepter to the ground. Behind him, a large amount of dirt rose, reshaped and hardened in the form of a throne. “That's more like it.” The Alakazam smiled as he sat and continued to enjoy the show that himself put up. It went on for a few minutes until.

“Your highness, it is done.” The Sneasel told him.

“Aw, I have just get things, placed in perfection.” He let out a long sigh and allowed the dirt fell back onto the ground. “It's time, for us to go. Let not keep, the lady from her needed medical attention. Our time together was short, but it was, really amusing.” The Alakazam said while giving Axel an evil smile. His "knights" quickly made their way up with the ropes connected to the plane. A few other went out to the gate and get on the trucks loaded with colonists. The Alakazam lifted himself up with his psychic power and got in the open in the hover plane's belly.

When the Alakazam was on the plane and the sound of the convoy leaving was heard, he released his control over the two agents. Dropped Celeste to the ground and letting Axel rushed to her. Celeste couldn't hold on anymore and fell unconscious. Axel summoned a syringe with the pink liquid. He then injected its content to her neck. That made the Sylveon wake up screaming. A faint noise of Axel apologizing could be heard. The Alakazam raised his scepter and yelled. “Send my regards to Mr. Lucious Genesis the Third.” He then cackled with delight.

“After that, I couldn't do anything but watch him teleported the entire plane away and his convoy just rode off and disappeared. I couldn't chase after them as I got to take Celeste back to the Square. Good thing that I made it back in time and the doctors managed to get her out of critical condition relatively fast. And that's pretty much it. The whole thing.” Axel finished his story.

“Damn, that was a close one for the Celeste,” Rick said. “And what the hell is up with that guy?”

“Shit. Should have shot down those helicopters when we have the chance.” Catherine said.

“What?” Rick said.

“Don't you pay attention at all? This whoever the fuck he is said he remember Axel. And Axel was the one that disturbed his slumber. Guess who the fuck said that before?” Catherine said.

“Oh yeah, the Rhyperior.” Rick the rubbed his jaw. “Still trying to forget that embarrassing moment. So what you are saying was that he was inside the helicopters that escape.”

“That was fucking obvious, wasn't it?”

“But then if he was powerful enough to bend us two to his whim them why didn't he fought us back then?” Axel said.

“Maybe, he was not all-powerful,” Catherine said. “Maybe that mid-day slumbered was just he meditate or some shit. That Mind plate probably takes him quite some time to get used to, I think.”

Rick said, “Oh yeah, didn't he mentioned of Celeste messing with his expedition?”

Catherine said, “Yes, he did. It’s must be the forest, with the Genesect.” She snapped her fingers.

I guess it's safe to assume that he somehow has the knowledge of the location of the plates.”

Rick said, “Damn, can you imagine if he has more of those?”

Axel said, “We don't have to if Genesis got them all first.”

Rick said, “Sound like we are going to bump into these guys a lot. Have you informed Anna on all this?”

“I did. And she suggested that we prepare for the worst.”

Catherine said, “Sounds like I need to practice some defense with my psychic power. Really don't want to fuck with that guy without them. Any chance that this place has some psychic type artifacts that I can buy?”

“Floor 11th, I think,” Rick said and rubbed the back of his head.

“Catherine, think you have any way to counter him?” Axel said.

“Well, that's kinda hard to tell. Mental puppetry, I can reverse that but my own mental power must overcome him in order to do so. With the Mind plate and being an evolved version of an Alakazam, that is fucking impossible at my current power.” Catherine said, and she meant it. She thought of the voice inside her but she did not want to risk it, some past experience told her why. “Okay, so there is only one way that I could think of.”

“What is it?” Axel asked.

“Gang on him.” She shrugged her shoulder.

“Woah, calm down, don't go there, Catherine,” Rick said.

“Get your head out of the gutter, Rick. In order to do a mental grab and kill, psychic types need the target to stop moving too fast and absolute focus from the user. So we just need to attack him on multiple fronts, he'll need to keep that fucking barrier up to stop the bullets or running away, no chance to concentrate on one point. Remember how he nearly choked up just because of the music?”

Rick said, “So when in doubt, just scream in the face then.”

Catherine raised her finger and then dropped it. “Ehh, yeah, that could work, it should give you a window to run.”

“Well, let just think it as our only way for now,” Axel said and began to eat his soup, which had got cold for a while. He just ate it slowly.

“You look pretty, eh, anxious,” Rick said but soon interrupted by Axel.

“I said, I'm okay,” Axel said.

“Don't go there. I know that shit. You don't want sympathy but something does bother you.”

“Well, today my girlfriend nearly die, dozens of colonist under my protection-abducted. And I was completely powerless when all that happen in front of my eyes. Oh and I danced while my girlfriend was bleeding out in my arms. So yeah, it bothers me and I'm trying to forget it.”

“Dude, you couldn't change any of that,” Rick said.

“You thought I'm not aware of that?” Axel raised his voice slightly. He then gave up on his meal and leaned back in his chair and sighed.

Catherine was about to tell him to relax, but that wouldn't help much. If those colonists were other Celestians she would act that way too. But it was really off to her. She was expecting Axel to be the one that got everything under his control. But again, no one was expecting that bandit King.

Rick said. “You know what man? It's all been done. Just forgive yourself. Keep your head up. We will get these sumbitches one day and I shall let you tap dance on that Alakazam's rib case- right after I pluck it from his body and burn his head.”

“That was unnecessarily morbid, Rick. But, eh, thanks.” Axel said.

“I kinda like that, it gives motivation. Sick and fucked up motivation.” Catherine said.

“Let's hope that I got to see the faces of those children again in a better scenario,” Axel said. His face still looked troubled.

“That's a bit better. But do you know what it the best thing for you to do right now?”

“Let me guess,” Catherine said

“Alcohol.” Catherine and Rick said in unison.

Rick continued, “Heh, well if they were made for a reason, then this would be it.”

“Sure. Why not? Drink on me. Let's drown this damned morning in alcohol, you in Catherine?” Axel said.

“You said that, not me. Rick, what is the most expensive and best drink Gwen got?” Catherine said.

Rick answered her. “Bliss, no question. That's thing gonna blow head all the way to heaven like a rocket and then let it land in hell the next morning.”

“With a tagline like that, I want two,” Catherine said.

Axel sighed. “One Rick is enough.”

Somewhere on Essal. A Pokémon was sitting in front of a large computer screen. The room he was in filled with darkness and the blue crystal screen was the only thing that got light in it. The screen was displaying the image of Anna. The Pokémon rubbed his forehead and spoke. “You must excuse me for being late. The last meeting was much longer than I expected. You would understand, lives of our worker depend on it.”

“It's quite all right sir.”

“So what is it that you wished to report?”

“We have an issue at hand, sir.”

“An issue? How big?”

“Very”

“Well, tell me then.”

“Today five separate colonies were under attack, sir.”

“What? Five? I thought we have given some manner of protection to all of our colonies. Must be the freelancers. Wish that they had listened to our offers.”

“No sir, there was only one freelanced, the rest belong to us.”

“What? Where?”

“All five were located in the revived desert on the East side of the Outland.”

“That was our satellite blind spot for today. What is the damage? How many got killed?”

“9 in total sir. But the rest of the colonists had been taken away.'

“Who is responsible for this?”

“From an agent and various evidence found at the sites, a bandit faction named the Bandit Kingdom and the possible involvement of the Infinity corp.”

“What? That's impossible, you had told me that they couldn't do anything major and just a speck compares to other bandit factions that we have eradicated. And Infinity is involved in this?”

“Only a possibility, sir. And yes, we certainly have underestimated this group.”

“It appears so.”

“We now have some details regarding their leader, this time, sir.'

“Really? Who is him?”

“A mega Alakazam that claimed himself to be the Bandit King.”

“Oh yes, how typical.”

“And the Mind elemental core in his possession.”

Lucious paused for a moment. “It can't be. No, it’s must be. This individual must be the reason why they are making a daring move today. Hum, so that is why his henchman was trying to dig the underground lab up. He must be collecting them, just like us.”

“Everyone want a piece of Arceus’s power.”

“That is true. But not all could use it responsibly. Especially the bandits. How did he have any knowledge about these cores to begin with?” The Pokémon the paused. “Too many uncertainties. Any detail on why did his group attack our colony?”

“Not right now sir. He seems to only be interested in our workers and the colonist.”

“What is our agents’ status after the attack? How many were lost?”

“Most of them were injured but they were all alive.”

The Pokémon leaned back in his chair. “So he had not grasped the full potential of the core or is he taunting us? Alright, announced all our colonies that are still on the Outlands surface, it's time to go back and stop all operations. Told them there were some difficulties and we need them back. Give them compensations if you can.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Look like sunshine is no longer a luxury but a dangerous sport that none of them ask for. Do not cause panic, both from the move in colonists and those who are still here.”

“Yes, sir. But what about the freelancers?”

“They chose not to get involve with us. They have to take the risk. Now, for the agents. Mark all assignments regarding colonies operations a full team mission. Cannot let the valuable colonies behind for looters and bandits. And instruct them to call for backup whenever this King is encountered.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What is going on with this world anyway?”

“Sir, I wish not to upset you. However, in one report, the "King" said, "Send my regard to Mr. Lucious Genesis the Third.”

“Hm, that is. Well, I think it's time for a double background check on our personnel. Look like he is taunting us after all.” He pondered. “Is there anything else you wish to tell me?”

“No, sir. That's all for now.”

“Good, I need to get ready for my next meeting. Goodbye, Anna.”

“Goodbye, sir.”

The Pokémon said before turning off the screen, changing the room into pit black. He leaned back on his chair and activated his stereo system with a snap of his metallic hand. The sound of classical music filled up his dark room.

The trio was now in the Reverent. The place at night was indeed more active. The music is more fast paced and upbeat. There was the thumping sound of dancing from the top floor. The neon lights were turned on and filled the bar with a colorful glow. The tables were nearly full, and it took the effort of several females dressed in Lopunny style outfit to keep every there happy. Gwendolyn was still behind the bar, mixing up drinks. Axel, Catherine, and Rick were the only Pokémon to sit at the bar (probably because Rick took the space of three Pokémon). In front of Rick was a large number of double shot glasses. He had been placing then in order and stacking them up like a mini castle. Axel got himself three glasses of Scott. His head was still dropping but the drink and everything had helped him loosen up a bit. Catherine got two fancy tall glassed with various patterns carved on them. On the rim was a long angel wing made of ice that never seem to melt. Inside of one glass was 3 quarters of blue liquor and the other was empty. Catherine’s eyes were wide opened. Her hand gripped the glass tightly. Her head fixed in place.

“Catherine, are you okay? You haven't said anything for a while.” Axel asked, his voice still sound the same, yet the pace was slower.

“Dude, I think the Bliss just knock her out,” Rick said then laughed.

Catherine then took a long gasp for air and whispered. “The angels from above. They are looking at me”

“Ha, told ya. Must be seeing things by now.” Rick said.

“WELL, FUCK YOU THEN, ANGELS!” Catherine yelled and slammed her fist, making Gwen turn her head. “THOSE GUYS DESERVED TO DIE AND YOU KNOW IT. I DON'T GIVE A FUCK OF WHAT YOU THINK. I'LL RIP YOUR FUCKING WINGS WITH A PAIR OF CHOPSTICKS AND SCOOP YOUR HOLY EYES OUT WITH A SPOON.”

“Eh, I don't think she is suitable for this type of drink,” Rick said. “She's starting to sound like me, the old one that is.”

Axel tried to wave his hand in front of her. But Catherine then jerked her head to his direction. “Boo. Ha. Just fucking with you guys. It would take more than that to get me seeing stuff. But damn, this drink is fucking awesome. Is my face swelling up because I can't feel it, like at all?” Catherine kept an awkward smile while talking.

Rick said. “Nah, you look fine.”

“I'll take that as a compliment. See, Axel can take one of those.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” Axel drank the rest of his glass.

A cough then appeared behind their backs. “Ahem, I am surprised to see this. I was expecting this kind of behavior from Rick and Catherine but you as well, Axel.”

Rick turned around. “Hey, Doc, give the kid a break, he, he is oh god I forgot why we are drinking.' Axel gave a glance at Rick and then returned to his drink and said. 'It's not a regular thing. It's a long day for me. I need it.”

“Yes, I have heard the news. Terribly sorry. Nothing against your action right here.” Doc said.

“What are you doing here dude?” Rick said.

“I want to tell you all that these will be few changes in future. Utterly important, must be addressed. But look like I will have to wait for that. But first, Catherine, can I talk to you in private?” Doc said.

“How about later? Creepy old guy and semi drunk female don't mix.”

“Hah, nice one.” Rick said.

“This is no joke. And I am not that creepy, mind you. I must tell you this right now, so I can delete it from my memory bank. I hate keeping it full.”

“Okay, okay, I'm moving.” Catherine got off the chair. Her movement was still pretty accurate.

“Good, see me outside.” Doc said and walked out first.

Later.

“Okay, I'm here. What do you want?” Catherine said.

Doc then whispered to her. 'Anna told me about your little fight with Infinity elite.' That sentence got Catherine's focus backed to her head really quick. He continued, “She told me to give you this, give me your fabricator.' Catherine stretched her arm and allowed Doc to touch the device on her sleeve. Doc then connected it with his arm to it and transferred something. “Okay, congratulation on you additional reward. Just a B rank reward, but got to be better than a fine.”

“Okay, but I thought I fucked it up. Cause war and shit, maybe.”

“Don't worry about it. It was self-defense and her appearance after the attack certainly justify your action. But there would be less confusion if there were more data. And no guilt since you didn't kill her right?”

“Yup, not sure what else happen afterward, but I held no guilt from the last time I saw her.” Catherine realized how stupid that sounded and said. “Sorry, this shit is kinda mess up with my head.” Catherine ended her sentence and rubbed her temple.

“Good, you can always pay for it as a hangover the next day. Off topic. Return to the elites and Infinity. As for the future, avoid fighting them or rather, observe them first. See what they are hiding, what they are doing and if they find you out, fight.”

“Ah shit, I have trouble laying low. Can I just pass that on to Axel?”

“Yes, you definitely should. But think about solo mission, like today morning. Keep those in mind.”

“Sure will, thanks, old man.”

“Good now get back to sabotage your body with alcohol.”

“Yeah, yeah, see ya tomorrow.”

“Will do.”

Back in Lucious's office. A Pokémon-A slouched Alakazam stepped in, created a line of light inside. The music was still occupied the empty space of the room. The Alakazam turned on the lights. He was an Alakazam wearing a spotless lab coat with the Genesis logo on his arm. His skin was pale white and filled with wrinkles and signs of age. In his right hand was a golden notepad similar to Anna's.

“Lucious, it's time.” He struggled to make his words louder than the music.

“Right.” The Pokémon turned off the music and got out of his seat. He walked toward the Alakazam.

“What seem, to be, the problem, child?” The Alakazam asked, coughed out his words.

“There had been some complications with the bandits.”

“Aren't there always.”

“This time, it's different.”

“Yes, it's always different. But, I'm sure that you will, be able to handle it, just like everything else in the past. How many factions were crushed, by your Foundation agents? More than the years of my life. These damned creatures are nothing more but a few, mere stones on our way of progress. No matter how big, we will eventually, crush them and continue.” The Alakazam gave a stronger voice for the word "crush".

“Your encouraging words will always be appreciated, Markov.” Lucious place his hand on the Alakazam’s shoulder.

“You are being too kind. We should head to the conference room now. Thousands of lives, depend on it.”

* * *

 

Author's notes:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is my first ever story so please forgive any possible mistake in the future and help me fix them.

Thanks again and have a pleasant day.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. They belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. The songs I reference here belongs to their respective artists as well. With that out of the way, please enjoy this piece of fanfiction.

A quick update for a quick chapter, hope you enjoy it.

* * *

 

 _Bang_ “GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!” _Click, Bang_.

“Catherine, just stop. You are wasting my ammo.” Axel said behind her back, his hand reached for his bolt action sniper rifle.

“Back the fuck off.” She fanned the Snivy with her opened palm. “Just give me one more clip and I’ll quit.”

“You said the same thing 5 minutes ago. And from the little display at the slot machine, you are not going to anytime soon. Just call it off. Sniping certainly doesn't fit you.” Axel said before placing a clip in her palm.

“Bullshit.” She ejected the old clip and loaded the new one in. 'You don't have a fucking shoulder, your eyes the size of your head and you can still crack skulls with this thing. Don't tell me that I can't.”

He sighed. “Fine, just this one clip.”

She fired another round and missed. “Damn it!”

“I'm surprised to see that bandit still hasn't collapsed from exhaustion.”

 _Bang_ “AW FUCK YOU!”

(The song "Do the evolution" by Pearl Jam begins to play)

Chesterization proudly presents.

A Pokémon fanfiction

**Genesis**

(Song ends)

**Chapter 8: The chase**

The past few days, the team had been stationing at a Genesis's colony on the North West side of the Outlands. They were in charge of assisting the process of reclaiming equipment and disassembling this colony. Most of the work was done by a crew of mechs and a few round trips from the drone planes, which left the team only with guarding duty. During their time here, they were relying on food creates, empty rooms and a Genesis car provided by the colony. The car got the Genesis red and black paint job all over. The front side of it could be fully be opened, allowing Rick to get in the driver seat. Above it was a turret with dual machine guns and shield to protect the user from head shots. The car was there to served Doc’s “just in case.” After five days, the colony was nothing more but an empty shell. Most of the mechs were gone, only a few were left behind to cut the main walls into smaller pieces. All the expensive equipment were gone, the rooms were torn apart. And the team was left with camping out at the intact gate for the remaining days. Doc had the luxury of sleeping in the car. And the rest had the hard ground that would be too hot during the day and too cold at night.

That afternoon, Rick was at the bottom of the gate, grilling up some snack for the team or rather just for himself, since they all just had lunch. Doc was hiding from the sun, repairing a mech. At the opposite of the gate, Rave was checking the Killian plane’s engine. He was a scrawny Charmeleon wearing a pilot suit and a helmet with head up display.

Catherine and Axel were at the top of the gate, taking cover behind a short wall. In her hand was a sniper rifle that leaned on the wall for support. Under her feet were empty casings and magazines put in a large pail. Axel was standing behind her. His visor enhanced his vision, allow him to look beyond the gate. They both were aiming at the Scrafty bandit running in a chaotic fashion over half a mile away. Under the bandits’ feet were bullets holes and a chunk of gray ground. The bandit was breathing like a filthy beast. Sure he was exhausted, but he got to keep going if he didn't want to end up like his friends. Those who were scattered in front of the gate, dead.

 _Click, Click_ “Okay, Catherine. That was my last clip. Call it off.”

“Aw shit.” She stood up and backed away from the wall, handling Axel the empty rifle. She then turned around, looking at the runaway bandit, sighed.

“Why wasting so much ammo and effort for one bandit?”

“You know the saying "What doesn't kill you make you stronger? I don't make stronger enemies. Once they get away, they will return and shoot you in the back.”

“Well, let him, we got enough barrier and firepower for that.”

“Better safe than sorry. You can never know what kind of shit that guy could cause in the future.”

“Had some unpleasant experience in the past?” Axel said, trying to analyze her behavior.

“Who hasn’t these days?”

“So, who got away?”

“Hehehe, quite the contrary.” That line got Axel stumped for a brief moment. Catherine continued. 'But screw it, it doesn't matter now. Look at him, that little shit is nearly there.' She pointed at the mountain on the horizon.

Axel then looked to his right and said. “He's not gonna make it.”

“What?”

Before Catherine and the bandits knew, a white and blue car rammed into him. The vehicle flayed him like a rag doll. “Ouch, that shit got to hurt. Yeah, that karma for ya. Or car-ma, haha, get it?” She looked behind her and he was gone. “Oh come on. It's not that bad.” She looked around and saw him was climbing down the ladder. “Where the fuck are you going?” She asked.

“Everybody in the car. Get ready for a pursuit.”

“Pursuit of what?” She then ran back to the wall and saw a large convoy was behind the white car. The convoy consisted of trucks, all with spikes and the Bandits Kingdom marking on them. In the heart of the convoy was a tank with a golden paint job. Catherine squinted her eyes, she thought she saw someone standing on the tank. And then a bright purple orb was slowly building up on the Pokémon’s head and then headed straight to her.

“Aw shit.” She exclaimed before the orb ran to her at an amazing speed. It then impacted the gate, setting of a purple blast that flung her out of the gate and crash-landed on the ground. Her barrier was broken and her back was nearly so. She screamed and lied there, motionless. For a moment, incredible pain started to plague her back. Not a second too soon, a needle was jammed into her neck.

“Calm down. Do not move. Let the medication do the work.” It was Doc.

“Doc, I got the car ready, let's move.” Rick urged him from the driver seat.

“Sure. Sorry, have to leave you here. No hard feeling. The medication should be enough.”

“Oh fuck you.” She said as the pain was numbing down.

Doc said before getting away from her vision. “She's fine, on my way.”

Doc got on the car through a side door and Axel got behind the turret. When everyone was settled, Rick turned the ignition. The engines revved up and the car sped through the gate. It then cut a line toward the last truck of convoy.

Far away, in the front of the convoy, the car that rammed the bandit had the logo of Infinity painted on its doors. Inside there was only one driver, a Flareon wearing bright orange armor and had a suitcase handcuffed to her wrist. She was talking to an Umbreon on a computer screen in where the glove box should be.

“What do you mean by 4 more minutes? These bandits are closing fast on me. I would be dead in 2 minutes.”

“That is the best we got. You are a moving target, it's not easy for us to pinpoint. Try something, some way to survive until we get there.”

“Argh.” The Flareon grunted before shutting off the communicator.

Outside, back in the tank, the King was standing on the main turret. His psychic power was the only thing that protected him from the strong wind. With a wave of his arm, the bandits’ trucks in the line of sight between him and the Infinity car moved to the side. He aimed the crystal on his scepter at the back of the car. A dark purple orb began to form. “Psychic Flare.” He said before launching the orb forward. That moment, the Infinity car quickly steered to the left, giving it enough space for the orb to pass by. The orb then hit the ground at the far end, created a large explosion of dirt and rock. It left behind a large hole, which the Infinity car avoided while one bandit's truck did not. The truck crashed head first to the hole and stopped, creating a blockage for the following trucks.

The tank's chain did not hold back and ran over the tail of the unfortunate truck and pushed the one that got stuck. The entire weight of the tank flattened a truck or two. The King gritted his teeth and charged up another orb.

The top of the Infinity car opened. The Flareon climbed out and placed a heavy Gatling gun on the roof. She slowly balanced herself on top of the car, carefully place the suitcase and picked up the gun. The King squinted his eye in confusion but proceed to fire the orb, either way, knowing that the car was on autopilot and could not dodge his attack. However, just like last time, the car steered to the side and dodged the orb once more. The Flareon grinned and pulled the safety switch on the Gatling gun. She closed the hatch and prepped up the gun. She aimed it at the first truck and held the trigger. The barrels began to spin and spat out ultra-hot energy shots. The shot seemingly melted the glass and went right through, splattered everything inside. The truck lost control and skidded along the rocky trail, bumping into a few others. The Flareon used the confusion and cleared out the trucks with her Gatling gun. The remaining pieces were steamrolled over and turned into fireballs by the tank. When there was just her and the King, she aimed the gun at him with a smirk on her face.

“You arrogant fool.” Said he as he blocked the heated energy bullets with a double layer of Light Screen. A " _Pang_ " went off behind his back and his barrier caught a shell from Axel's rail gun. He leered back and saw the commotion behind him. All the sounds and destruction happened in the front was making him ignorant to what was happening the minions behind him. The trucks behind the tanks were firing their machine guns like mad at the Genesis’s car. In return, an Alakazam behind the roof-mounted-turret was dissing back a few hundred bullets back. Behind him, the King could see a familiar face. The turret gave Axel just enough cover for him to snipe with the rail gun. “You still haven't learned, your lesson.” The King said through his teeth and launched the shell back at Axel, who ducked down and let the shell went right over his head. The King took a quick breath and collected his thoughts.

The King the turned back to the Flareon, whose Gatling gun was on now recharge. He took aim at her with his scepter. “One thing at a time.” The King said. The crystal ball shone from within. “Psybeam.” The King said before shooting a straight purple beam at the Flareon's stomach. The beam pushed her all the way to the front of the windshield. She crashed into the windshield was pinned on it like a mosquito. The suitcase chained to her wrist hit and broke open. An orange plate flew out from it and flew backward. The King's eyes almost shone at the site of the plate. He reached his hand out, breached his front barrier and waiting for the plate to come. When the plate was almost in his grasp, he heard the sound of a hover plane coming to his right. The sound it made was much smoother than his own planes. He turned and saw the Killian plane. The side door was open and a Kirlia in the blue trench coat was standing with her left hand channeling psychic energy. She raised her index finger to him and retracted it to her fist. That confused the King until the plate hit him in the forehead and knocked him down on the tank. Catherine used her Psychic to grab the plate then flew it to her hand. “Ha, shit, that actually works.” That tingling feeling was there when she touched it, but she had no time for that. She slapped on the wall of the plane and said. “Got the thing. Get the fuck out of here.”

“I'm on it. Geez.” Rave said from the cockpit. The plane then shifted but then shook violently, throwing Catherine on the metal floor.

“The fuck?” She said.

“Something's, pulling us back. I can't.” The sound of the engines grew louder as Rave put his hand on the lever that control speed. The orange plate then pulled her to the doorway. “Oh shit!” she said before grabbing the plate tightly and held the rails on top. She saw the King had gotten up and his head was bleeding. He pointed his scepter at the plane and pulled back, playing a tug of war with the plane and her.

“Oh fuck. Do you have any weapon on the side? Big gun that shoots a lot of big bullets really fast.”

“Yeah, here.” From the floor, a fabricator projector sprouted created a heavy machine gun with shields just like the one on the team’s car.

“Yeah, that will fucking do it.” Catherine said before throwing the plate on the floor behind the gun. She suspended it with a heavy dose of Burden and then teleported herself on top of it. Her feet stomped on the plate and applied another Burden on it, sealed it shut. She loaded the ammo box in and started firing at the King.

At that point, Doc changed his target to the King, Axel was aiming his railgun, waiting for the perfect moment-When the mind barrier was destroyed. The Flareon had woken up. Realizing the plate was gone, she got herself out of the windshield and climbed back. She grabbed the Gatling and started firing again. Full auto bullets were coming at King too fast and they were getting closer to him by the seconds. His mind barrier and Light Screens were growing thin. He yelled really loud while raising his scepter. “Psychic Nova.” He cried and slammed the scepter at the Tank. Creating a humongous purple shockwave around him, which crushed the tanks from within. The shock wave expanded, flinging the trucks, the team's car, and the Flareon's car in its wake. Catherine was slapped and pinned to the wall inside the plane. And the plane itself was pushed outward. Rave lost control and the plane was heading to the mountainous region. Knowing where things were heading, she reclaimed the plate and said “Sorry”. She teleported herself out of the wall and jump through the doorway. She covered herself in a psychic shield that somewhat nullified the damage caused by her fall. The plane continued to spin and crashed into a mountain. It did not explode.

She stood there and sighed in relief. But panic when she saw an angry look from the King. He was still kneeling on the tank (or whatever left of it) but his eyes were on her. 'Oh fuck.' She held tight to the plate and immediately teleported away. The King couldn't chase after her as he was still recharging from his attack. He told himself, he would love to chase his prey.

Catherine got herself quite far away from the original spot, she made a turn at the mountain range and found a path that led to a large sand valley. She looked behind her, still no Alakazam to be found. She teleported deep into the valley, finding a cave or something place to hide.

Out of nowhere, the King appeared in front of her with his scepter was in a batter’s position. Catherine instantly teleported behind him. He missed his strike and left an open for her. She punched the King in the back, making a cracking sound. The Pokémon fell to the ground. 'Gotcha.' she said and stomped the Alakazam in the spine, snapping it in half with her boot.

But then he disappeared into a puff of smoke under her feet. “Mirror substitute?” Catherine said before teleported a few hundred feet away from another scepter slam. The real King had missed once again. Catherine charged forward, gaining momentum and stroke out her fist. He turned to her and she teleported behind his back. Predicted her intention, he put the scepter behind his back and activated a green Protect orb around himself. A mean to block her punch without even looking. He did this with the intention of toying and insulting her. “You are too predictable.” He said. But then, he couldn't hear her punch impacted his shield. When the shield disappeared, he immediately teleported away, fearing Catherine was pulling a trick. Nothing, he turned around, seeing Catherine was high tailing away from him with the plate was still in her hand.

He realized the foolish game he and she had played and decided to finish things right then. He took control of the plate and pulled it. Catherine felt the resistance and held it tighter with her own psychic power. She flipped the plate around and attached it to her back. She then ran straight at him with a Focus Blast charging up in her hand. The plate glowed as the orb in her hand started building up. The orb focused and changed its color to red almost instantly. That caught the King off guard. He stopped pulling and prepared for a counter attack. Catherine threw the orb when he stopped his psychic hold on the plate. The King pulled up a Light screen from the ground. The orb came in contact with the Light Screen, shattering it in one large explosion. The shards of mental material were shot at the King by the force of the concussive shock wave. But they couldn’t do more but knocked him back for his normal layer of psychic barrier sacrificed itself for his safety. Catherine teleported to him and grabbed him by the crown on his neck, got some parts of the beard in the process. He quickly used his free hand to cover Catherine's head and transferred something to her head with a psychic glow. A numbing sensation went through her head, warping the reality around her. Catherine unhanded him and went for his arm, squeezing it with a bone-crushing force. The King cried out and pulled his hand back. Catherine suddenly got something hard struck her face and made the world around her dissolved for a second or two. The King then teleported away from her and kept a straight line of sight with a disorientated Catherine. He raised his hand and Catherine was slowly lifted from the ground. He then moved his fingers, attempted to get his psychic hold on her. She then shook violently and in a rage filled scream. Coating herself with a bright purple glow, she teleported away. Completely disappeared from his sight. After that, things were silent. The King looked back and saw nothing.  He looked in all direction and decided to lock himself in a Protect for safety. Still silence. During the short, immobilized moments in the Protect, he remembered one direction he had not look-up. “Focus Slam.” Catherine broke the silent with her trademark scream and threw a large red orb at him. The King opened his mouth and stretched his eyes wide at the red light coming down. He crossed his arm and hope the green barrier hold. The base of the Protect orb just started to disappear when the red orb hit, fortunate for the king. The red orbs went off, triggered a brilliant light and a boom. A crunching noise was heard as the Protect orb was hammered down, pinning the King with it. Around him, ripples of sand and small rocks were flowing and expanding. The King's ears were bleeding. He kneeled down and curled up, feeling the shaking ground.

When he could not felt any more vibration, he stood up from the center of a large crater. “That's the best you got?” He said. Then an unknown force concentrated around his body and lifted him up high in the air. Catherine teleported beneath him and fired away her Lady Death and Anima. Juggling the Alakazam up like a bone filled punching bag. Luckily his mind barrier had returned and bounced her shot. He held his scepter and charged up a purple orb. She then jumped and teleported on top of him. She continued firing while aiming down. The King could not maneuver himself to turn back and attack her. With a window of opportunity open, she propelled herself by focusing psychic power to her feet. She punched Anima forward and let it connected to the invisible barrier. She spammed the trigger, fired the weapon repeatedly. In the tenth shot, one bullet actually hit the plate on his back, somehow cracked it. However, things happened too fast that she did not notice. She threw her hand forward, quickly grabbed the plate and ripped it out. There were a lot of resistant from his psychic link. But fun fact, it is much harder to focus on one point when you were falling down to your death. She then threw the plate away.

The King was hopelessly watching the ground getting closer. Suddenly he had Catherine in his vision again. She was down on the ground. When he was a few feet above, she shifted to a handstand and double kicked the King in the stomach. A loud crack and dirty flesh sound came from the point of contact were overshadowed by his screaming. The kick tossed him upward again, shorter than the last. And like the last time, Catherine teleported on top of him. This time, though, she was standing in the air. Focus psychic power in her hands, she shot herself down. She crushed his back with her steel soles. Both then landed at the ground a second later with a series of crunching noise of the Alakazam's spine and rib cage.

Things went silent again. Catherine then allowed herself to take a breather and looked down. She saw a horrific thing happened under her boots. The Alakazam under her feet was shaking, like suffering a serious muscle spasm. It let unsettling grunt escaping its mouth. “It can't be.” She said and frozen there for a while. Another snapping sound and the head turned 180 degrees, facing her. The King’s face was covered in sand and sharp rock dug into his flesh. One eye was popped and the nerve connect it to the socket was expose. And then came the oozing blood. Black, and tar-like blood as the mouth stretched wide for a grin.

“Yes, you like what I, created?” The mangled head said. His remaining eyes began to glow bright purple.

“What the fuck are you?”

“I’m the King. But the thing you see, in front of you, is just my puppet. My master technique. The Mind plate gave me a lot of interesting abilities. Including, this.” His eye flashed and Catherine was petrified. However, she could still feel the mass of meat and muscle moving under her boots and hear everything the head said. She tried to snap out, but fruitless. She suddenly began to feel elevated from the Alakazam body.

“I don’t enjoy going out in the Outland very much. So I got another body, do most of the work. The Mind plate and a few, special equipment gave me full control over the body from the safety of my throne. Congratulation, you managed to almost kill, a quarter of my vitality and power. I'm impressed. But sadly, you cannot face me. Not if you are dead.” He then rose and twisted his head back, letting the head hanging in a crooked position. The blood from his face and mouth flowed back by the effect of gravity and dripped down, slowly. He had already encased her fully with his psychic glow. Her mind at that point was blank.

 _“You fools, give me control now! Can you hear me? What are you doing? Give me control now!”_ The malevolent voice in her head demanded.

An abrupt pain shot through her system and snapped her from the trance. She screamed and saw the Alakazam corpse had broken her right arm from within her with his psychic power. “As an honorable king, I shall give you the liberty, to let go of the plate.”

“Fuck you.”

“Fine.” He then broke her left leg in the middle of her shin. This time, she held back her scream and instead used the adrenaline to focus her mind.

“Now?”

“Break one more thing and you will regret it.” She said in a deep, menacing voice.

The Alakazam grinned and said. “Fine, your neck should do.”

He raised his hand and watched as a cloud of dark purple escape her sleeves. Found it weird, yet he still focused on her neck. With the psychic glow in place, he began to turn his hand.

A hot fist struck his crooked head, swung the head to the back, breaking the Alakazam line of sight. Did not know what happened, the head swung back and caught glimpse of a dark purple figure lunged at him. A punch that broke his regenerative psychic barrier in one hit? Impossible. The King thought from the empty vessel of a body. Another punch landed in his chest. It dusted quite a few ribs and send him flying all the way to a mountain in a distance. His broken spine slammed against the rock. The head adjusted its limited vision and saw Catherine levitating a few yards away. A dark purple aura covered her from head to toe. Her hair had grown longer compare to the fight with the Glaceon. Her left hand reached for her right arm and snapped her bone back in a quick painful crack. She twisted the arm a bit and then let it straightened itself out. She did the same with her leg but was struggling a bit more. She then dashed at the Alakazam with the speed of the wind. She stopped and stared into his scared, remaining eye.

“What are you?” He said.

“How ironic.” Catherine dug her hand into his chest, a string of intestine tangled to her hand. The fluid inside slowly turned to vapor when it came in contact with her aura. The Alakazam couldn’t possibly feel pain, but Catherine could taste something from the Alakazam face when he saw his inside-terror. She tossed him away from the mountain rocks. Some pieces of gut stuck in her hand, which she just casually shook off.

His limp body hit the ground and slid along the rocky ground, battering his body some more. Didn’t wait for him to stop, Catherine appeared right in front of him and punched him in the right shoulder, destroyed it and kept him sliding. She let the friction on his bottom, back, and spine continued doing the work for her. He tried to connect his fingers from both hands. He mumbled. “Rele”

Catherine floated beside him. “Don’t you dare” She grabbed his right arm ‘run away from me!’ She stomped her feet down. She stopped but he didn’t. The lost shoulder joint lost its grip. His slim, bony arm just popped right off. Catherine or whatever that was in her body, thought it would be amusing to beat his body until there was nothing left with this arm. But it wouldn’t matter much, as she had already won and any extra damage to this body would be nothing more but a practice section with a punching bag that bleed. It decided that things would be better if that body was to be destroyed in one quick “Spectacular” attack. So she broke the arm in half like a toothpick and walked toward the Alakazam body. She walked along the trail of blood, flesh and clothing shreds. In the end of the trail, a lump of red and yellow flesh laid.

The sound of her footsteps made the body moved away, crawling on the ground at a sluggish rate. She pinned him with her Burden. She then blocked the sunlight in front of his near destroyed dangling eye. “Next time, fight me with everything you got.” She said and proceeded to pick him up by the leg. “It’s time for you to get the fuck out of my sight!” She spun twice or three times then let him go, flying up in the air.

She charged up two small Focus Blast in each of her hands. Red in her right, dark purple in her left. She then slapped them together, mashing them into one big purple orb with a hint of red. Let her left hand in charge of it, she straightened her left arm. She moved her right hand and grabbed the left forearm. “Focus” She aimed her arm with the orb like a cannon. She closed her right eye and locked her left vision to the flailing body. “Arm” when everything was right, she shot the orb. “CANNON!!!” She yelled and watched the orb flew and consumed the body entirely. The orb then collapsed on itself, shrinking and abruptly expanding in the form of a mini supernova. The explosion light was so bright that it outshone the afternoon sun in a millisecond, caught the attention of her team and a few other Pokémon.

Catherine stood there, the wind and the sound were then hit her. Yet she still held still like a statue. Her aura kept raging on. She felt the appearance of someone. The Flareon was a few hundred feet away from her. She kept her Gatling gun at Catherine, but couldn’t bring herself to pull the trigger. She did not want to end up like her Glaceon colleague. Catherine leered her left eye at the Flareon. Her eyes had changed. They were now black and red. Catherine turned turn to her. The Flareon pulled the trigger. Fiery energy blast left the barrels, immediately disrupted Catherine’s barrier after a few shot. But Catherine was unharmed after that. The aura branched out and covered her. It blocked or rather absorbing all energy blasts. Catherine pointed her arm at the Flareon, making her flinched. A Focus Blast was charging up, this time, it’s built up slowly. “You can run if you want.” She said and the Flareon kept standing there.

The Focus Blast was ready. “Time’s up.” Catherine’s right hand suddenly gripped her left arm tightly and lowered it down. She was clenching her teeth and squeezed her arm, making the Focus Blast diminished in size and disappeared completely. “Re-gaining, control.” Catherine said through her teeth. The aura dark purple retreated back inside and Catherine collapsed on the ground. The Flareon dropped her gun and fell to the ground as well. She breathed heavily and looked at the leftover piece of the handcuff on her arm. She still had to finish the mission. The plate was still attached to Catherine’s back. She picked up her gun and walked toward Catherine unconscious body, cautiously.

The Genesis’s car then entered the valley and parked between her and Catherine. She raised her Gatling gun. The roof machine guns pointed down at her.

“Highly recommend you stop.” Doc said. She fired her gun, making him hide behind the shield. She continued firing until the gun started recharging.

“Now gave me the plate or I'll kill you!” The Flareon disassembled her Gatling gun and took out a shotgun from within. She took a piece of the machine from her armor and put it in the shotgun.

“Now, how is that a threat to us? The only reason I haven’t shot you is because I wish to negotiate.”

“There’s nothing to negotiate.” She fired her shotgun.

“I don’t think so.” Axel's voice appeared behind her. She couldn’t respond fast enough and got a jolt of electricity from a stun gun knocked her out. Axel kicked her weapon away and wrapped her in his vines. “It’s clear.” He said.

The front of the car opened and Rick climbed out of his seat. Doc climbed out of the turret and jumped down from the car. He then immediately raised his submachine gun.

“Released her. You can have the plate.” An elite said behind Axel’s back. “Just be calm and place Firona there. Nobody will be hurt.”

“Are you serious? We can take them.” The first elite said.

“We are outnumbered and outgunned. Think twice.” Axel turned around. Facing two elites. An Umbreon with a sniper rifle and a Glaceon with bandages all over along with a submachine gun in her arm. He gently unwrapped the unconscious Flareon and placed her on the ground in front of him. When the Flareon was settled down, he stepped back. Allowing the Glaceon to check on her. She then put the Flareon on her shoulder and walked back to her ally. The Umbreon nodded. “Good. Thank you for not killing her.”

“There is no reason to.” Axel said and watched as they ran toward a small hover plane. A few seconds later, the plane took off. Its engines made no sound during the takeoff, explaining why he didn’t detect them. Rick kept his rocket launcher until the plane disappeared from his sight.

Later, the sound of a few Killian planes came and soon they landed beside the team’s car. “About time they show up.” Rick said.

Axel told Rick to carry Catherine to one of the planes and he obeyed. Catherine didn’t respond when Rick picked her up, just breathing soundly. Axel walked around the valley and saw the disembodied arm.

“Unacceptable, this rate of backup is simply unacceptable.” Doc said as he walked toward a plane. He knocked on the door. The door abruptly swung open and a white foam covered Charmeleon jumped out. “Where is that bitch?” He said angrily.

Later that day. In the medical wing.

Celeste was lying in a regular room. She had the first bed to the exit. She was almost fully healed from her wound. The regeneration process was nearly complete and there was nothing left on her stomach but a round scar covered by bandages. She had woke up from one of her daily naps. One that usually lasted four hours or more. It was not what she would enjoy, but that was the only thing she could so in this empty four beds room. The doctor did not allow her to leave the room and she was the only patient here. Beside her bed, in the drawer was a handheld gaming system, but it did not keep her occupied for long. The enjoyable games were too short and the long ones were just too hard and frustrating. Her teammates did visit for the first few days but the knowledge of she was going be okay made them stopped. Axel also stopped after taking the job in the Outland. She had not seen him since. She signed and closed her eyes again, getting back to sleep. But then she heard a noise beside her. It was Catherine laying on the bed next to her. She got active-Nano casts on her arm and leg. She was levitating a scroll with strange Unown markings written on it along with a few geometric objects with similar markings. She turned around and faced Celeste. “Hey, sunshine girl. How are you doing?” She saluted her with her left arm.

“Catherine! What happened to you?”

“You know, the usual shit. Falling from the stairs.”

“We don't have stairs, Catherine.”

“Eh, yeah, mmmm, yeah, I'm a shit liar.” _"How ironic,"_ The voice in her head said.

“What? You don't have to you know? Don't need to hide anything from me. I’m a nurse after all.”

“Don't wanna be an insensitive bitch since, you know. Don't want to remind you of the fucker that did that to you.”

A flashback went inside Celeste’s head, making her closed her eyes. “He hurts you?”

“Yeah, pretty obvious. I got a bit carry away. But I kicked his ass pretty good, though. He was scared shitless of me. Get some comfort from that.”

“You what? How did you?”

“I got really lucky and I kinda pushed it.”

“Well, you certainly did better than us.”

“See, this is why I want to hide that from you.”

“Oh no, don't be.”

“Nah, don't hide it. We Kirlia have a thing for emotion. I got a read on you while laying here. Don't freak out. We got those automatically, can't help it. And you getting uncomfortable for remembering that. I should just fucking stop.”

“Oh, I don't mind, and I mean that.”

“Okay, whatever you say.”

There was an awkward silent. Both of them sniffed the sterile air.

“So, what do you do around here the past few days?” Catherine said.

“Sleeping, and nothing much.”

“Damn, that's gotta sucks.”

“Well, I have visits, the first few days.”

“Oh, yeah, Doc took us all so Axel couldn't be here.”

“I know. I kinda figured that out. How is he? Is he okay?”

“He's fine. Kinda miss you. Luckily he didn’t get sappy. He just acknowledged it and do his shit.”

“Oh, good.” Sounded a bit disappointed. “So how was the mission? Besides the battle with that Alakazam.”

“Well, nothing much actually. A few bandits did attack but Axel and the other got to them first. Didn’t get many kills.” She paused. “Soooooo, how long are you going to be here?”

“A few more day. More or less. You should be up around the same. Just broken bones right?”

“Yeah, big mistake from the bastard.”

“So now we can keep each other from growing bored in the meantime.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

Another awkward silent.

“So, what are you doing with those, thingy?” Celeste asked.

“Well, I'm practicing some psychic control. Got to be ready for that fucking King again. This is the only thing that I could do that doesn’t require arms and legs. Fucking bastard, I have to levitate myself to even use the bathroom.”

“You can improve your abilities much quicker with a few neuro implants.”

“Don't know, though. How does that even work?”

And they spent the rest of that they exchanging words, despite having a hard time to find a middle ground for their backgrounds were so different. When the explanation of neuro implants was over, they looked for new topics. There were fashion and lifestyle from Celeste’s end and violent from the other end. They both kept a rather close lid of their past as the endless conversation went on. And both seem to respect that. Their middle ground came in form of Celestial’s fairy tales, something that the Sylveon seem interested in the most. And to some extent, Catherine as well. For those tall tales were some of the dearest memories she had with her mother. When the stories started flowing, both felt more comfortable with each other. And the kept on telling and listening until one eventually fell asleep.

At Akemi, the city of neon lights buildings that never sleep. One of the largest city in Asuna. At the 56th floor of an Infinity building located in on the East side of the city. The Umbreon, Flareon, and Glaceon elites were having a conversation near the large window.

“Okay, I admitted I did shot first. But take into account that the Kirlia herself was going on the aggressive, she pointed a gun at me. There you happy, Shade?”

“Well, don't be so bitter.” The Umbreon pondered. “It appears that Genesis is on a quest of their own and not in cahoots with the bandits in the disappearance of our assets and equipment. Making provoking the agent an unwise move, Icelyn.”

“What are you getting at? That I should just stay there and let potential power hungry maniac kill me?”

“Well, one cannot be sure about any of that. But you are just a Pokémon. Mistake could happen and are allowed to, once.”

Fiora said, “Bandits, Genesis, what the different? And who care about a few missing junks? Today I saw her, that Kirlia is not normal I tell you. She had something, disturbing inside her.”

“You choked for some reason and let they got a chunk of Arceus's power. More power to them, and that’s terrible. Remember who turned Essal this way?” The Glaceon pointed her finger at the Flareon.

“Stop it. She could kill me. And look who is saying, if not for us she could have killed you too.”

“Easy both of you. Get over the past and don’t get upset. Losing control is unprofessional.”

“You were not there.” The Flareon said, shaking a bit.

The Umbreon continued, “Moving on. She might be a furious beast but it’s just one agent. In some regards, I don't think the rest of Genesis is that bad.”

“Now you are defending them. What’s wrong with you?” The Glaceon said.

“Not them all, just Lucious and that Snivy. He took the high road and none lethally took you down.”

“And you think that is okay?” The Flareon said.

“No, I think it’s not that bad.”

“And what the hell is with Lucious?” The Glaceon said.

“He did try to fix the mistake his father made, that deserves something.”

“Yeah, my fire fang in his face.”

“You said these things because he invited you to dinner, once.” The Glaceon said and pointed at the Umbreon.

“Pf, please, you are the only one who has not been over that.”

“Stop all these pointless gossips.” The Espeon’s voice jumped in. “We are Infinity’s elites, and we are fully committed to all this. If Lance says so, we do so. No question, no discussion. End of story. And Shade, get back to your post.”

“Sure, I’ll do it. So long.” The Umbreon smiled and walked away.

“You two, get those reports ready. And return to you positions as well.”

“Yes, madam.” Both saluted the Espeon and said in unison.

* * *

 

Exposition time:

Mirror Substitute: A combination of the moves Substitute and Double Team. Instead of creating a doll from the user’s life force, it created a clone bears the image of the user. In order to confuse the enemy with great effect, the user can make the clone move or fight in sync with the image provided by Double Team using Psychic. Adept psychic types can only use this move.

Author's notes:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is my first ever story so please forgive any possible mistake in the future and help me fix them.

Thanks again and have a pleasant day.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. They belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. The songs I reference here belongs to their respective artists as well. With that out of the way, please enjoy this piece of fanfiction.

* * *

 

Lucious was in his office. The computer screen once again served as his only light source. Like always, Anna and her reports kept him company in this dark and empty workspace. “We managed to recover a replica of the Psychic elemental power core at the site. It served as a mental barrier amplifier for the body double. Our scientists are currently working on how it was made.”

“So what else did we recover? Besides that and the Fighting elemental core?”

“We did obtain the scepter of his double. It has a crystal orb used by psychic types. The orb helps focus brain waves and achieve higher performances. Nothing’s too special about it.”

“Is that all?”

“No, sir. But there are two rather disturbing details.”

“Other than a Pokémon somehow telepathically control a body double to do his dirty work? I’m listening.”

“Most of the double’s body was destroyed by agent 364. However, we found the double’s arm at the scene.”

“Have you conducted a DNA test on it?”

“I have, sir. And the result tells that it is just an Alakazam’s arm. It contains the DNA of an Alakazam with O blood type and nothing more. No genetic defect or defining features and patterns.”

“You mean, like the insurance bodies?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Didn’t we discontinued that line of product two years ago?”

“It has been confirmed by the archive.”

“Good, that is not disturbing at all, to me that is. There must be an inside job in our company and now I know which department to focus on. And what is the second “disturbing” detail?”

“In addition to the arm, we also recovered an intact mega stone from the site as well.”

“Since these bandits somehow got their hand on elemental core, salvaging a mega stone should be no surprise.”

“We performed radiocarbon dating on the stone. And it revealed that the age of the object is three months old.”

“That’s impossible. Have you double checked it?”

“I did it three times with three different labs. The results are consistent.”

Lucious sighed. “How many years did my father spent on the mega stones recreation research?”

“From the archive, more than 15 years sir.”

“And he failed. Yet this bandit, this criminal, somehow, created one 3 months ago.” He slammed his metal fist on the table. “That’s it. I had it with these bandits. We need to stop and destroy this faction and their leader as quickly as possible. Tell everyone to stop all “New Genesis” related operations. From now, focus all our efforts in stopping the Bandit Kingdom. As well as claiming all the plates before they do.”

“Yes, sir.”

“There’s must be a quicker way to get information regarding their operations. Have you tried sending a few agents to infiltrate their ranks?”

“This Bandits King, like all bandits, uses Pokémon like tools, expandable and easy to replace. It is not ideal and safe for our agents. The result may not be, desirable.”

“In that case, just observe them with any way you can. Look into their every move. We need an upper hand against these savages. They might somehow know the locations of the hidden plates. But we have enough power to take it from them.”

“Understood, sir.”

Lucious then walked out of his chair. “Is there anything else?”

“That is all, sir.”

“Good. Keep me posted. Now I got a few meetings to attend to.”

“I will and good luck with your meetings, sir.”

“Goodbye.” Lucious turned off the screen and exited the room.

(The song "Do the evolution" by Pearl Jam begins to play)

Chesterization proudly presents.

A Pokémon fanfiction

Genesis

(Song ends)

**Chapter 9: Infestation**

Doc, Rick, Axel and Catherine were inside their Killian plane. All were almost ready for a mission. Doc was sitting beside the airlock. His bionic eye locked on the data displayed on the hologram screen projected from his arm. Beside his seat laid his usual submachine gun. Axel was checking the iron sight on his crossbow, making sure everything is perfectly in line. Rick was at his usual spot, the crushed rows of seats. He spent the last 10 minutes sorting out his ammunitions. From shotgun shells to grenade and magazine in all sizes, all were in his reach. Catherine was standing in front of him. She held on to the rail above and hummed a melody. The Infinity submachine gun was in her other hand. Anima and Lady Death were on her back. And the Cerberus shotgun latched on her lower back.

Doc turned off the screen and said. “A quick recap. Yesterday, the miners reported strange holes started appearing inside the mine. Structures fell down, no casualty. But after that initial report, they just went quiet, disappeared. No report of any kind for a near 24 hours. Our mission is to investigate and rescue them if possible.” Doc then whispered. “Suspecting a bandits attack.”

Catherine said. “Argh, not again. I really fucking sick of those assholes.”

“Take it easy, just suspecting. Many other things could have happened. We will never know until we investigate and get some solid data.”

“I know that, but just hearing about those fuckers pisses me off. Can’t we just have something that isn’t about those fuckers? Can we go somewhere and do something else.”

“You can join us and Celeste, helping out with the colony.” Axel said.

“No, I don’t want to a third wheel around you guys. It’s awkward as fuck. Maybe killing something for the right reason.”

Doc said, “You can do bounty hunts. Oh wait, I forgot. They tend to ask you NOT to kill the bounty. Sorry.”

“How about killing a few mutated feral just for the hell of it? I mean just for the colonists. Yeah, colonists.” Rick said.

“Rick. It’s hard to believe, but the mutated feral has sadly been a part of our new ecosystem for more than a decade now. As much as I want to purge and replacing them all with productive robots, I can’t. Genesis deems it, immoral and well, insane.”

“Dude, you need to get out of the lab and do some field assignments. Yeah, they are a part of nature now. But some feral species breed like no tomorrow. Ugh, man, that idea creeps me the hell out. But yeah, once this thing got a place to live with food and everything, their number will grow through the god damn roof. And soon crap will slip out of hand. That will suck for the colonists, who happens to be nearby. And since, you know, these things don’t have many natural predators, they will get a much longer lifespan. With those elements, they will mess up the balance of the ecosystem even more.”

“That sound, bad.” Catherine said.

“And who is going to bring balance? Only we could fill in that role. We are the apex predators on this planet, my friend.” Rick made his voice much deeper during the last sentence. “Yeah, sorry about that last one.”

“That is something not registered in my database. I’m impressed with you Rick.”

“Nah, it just heard it from Craig. The dude knows a lot about feral. So Catherine, if you want to blow off steam with some good ole’ fashion hunting, I got a few extermination assignments. And what they want you to do? Kill mutated feral just for the hell of it. I mean for the colonists. You know where this is going.”

“For the hell of it?”

“Well not exactly, but we’ll deal with regulations later. But yeah, you could join me sometimes, like a weekend thing.”

“Isn’t those the kind of assignments have the highest rate of mortality?” Axel said.

“Heh, this me we talking about. To me, assignments like that are just horde mode in a video game. Aim in any direction and you got one. And I’m the king of horde mode, baby. Real and virtually.”

“There is a fine line between those, Rick.” Axel added.

“For your information, most of those deaths are agents who can’t fight long battles. Me? Out of bullets, got my fist; fist get tired, epic flamethrower to the face.  And a million more ways to kill things with. And Catherine here. She’s the one that kicked the King’s ass. That’s enough cred for me to take her along.”

“If that is the case then I’ll be joining you. Sounds fun and less expensive than the virtual training.” Catherine said.

Doc said, “You can count me out of that one. Senseless killing would just distract me from my works. Creating things that save lives or kill things in a more effective way are much more appealing to me. Those and among other things, like hiking. Apology, off topic.”

“I’m not fit for onslaughts, either. I think I’ll stick with Celeste.” Doc suddenly snickered under his breath.

“Whatever floats your boat man. More targets for us.” Rick said.

The engine noise around them changed. A shift in pressure was felt and soon they heard a thump before the engine stopped. “We’re here.” Rave’s voice came from the speaker, quick and emotionless. Doc grabbed his gun and stood up. Axel strapped the crossbow onto his back and jumped off his seat. The plane shook a bit when Rick got himself up. Doc waited until the airlock was fully opened to poke his head out. He had a look at the landing field outside and said.

Doc said before he leaped out of the plane. “I have some bad news for you, Catherine.”

Catherine quickly ran to the doorway. “God fucking damn it!” Catherine said as she saw two helicopters with rusted armor and spikes at the landing pads. Of course, the all familiar crown symbol graffiti were there.

The Killian plane took off when the last member was one the ground. Catherine asked why the plane did not remain there for the rest of the mission. To that, Doc said. “It is better that way.” They were now in the middle of a relatively big landing pad with a giant Genesis symbol painted in the center. The pad and the area around it looked deserted. There were metal crates and three flying vehicles. Beside the bandits’ helicopters, there is one Killian plane with a much bigger body and a smaller cockpit. The sealed crates placed near the plane confirmed its role in the mining operation. A small cabin equipped with satellite dishes and antenna planted on the roof was nearby. To the left, a metal entrance gate with a serial number 311 painted on. A mountain in the distance could be seen behind that gate. There was not a single shade of greenery on that mountain. Doc held up his arm. “Be careful. The engine sound is going to alert every bandit in the area, so prepare to pull a trigger.”

Axel said. “I doubt it. If they heard it then they would be all over the landing pad before we even land.”

“Good point. Split up and search for clues. But still, need to be alert. Never know what could happen.” Doc stood still and opened a compartment on his arm, revealing a strange device. He then raised his arm to the sky and activated the device. Doc let his arm stay that way for a few seconds.

“What the fuck are you doing, Doc?”

“Scanning for movements. Save us the effort of going too far.” He said then looked at the hologram screen on his arm. There were grid lines and statistic all over the screen. However, there was not a single beeping sound or a moving dot.

“Well, that’s strange. The area seems clear.”

“Maybe they are in the mine?” Rick said.

Doc said, “Possible. Yes”

Axel asked. “How far is the mine from here Doc?”

“Not very far from here. Located at that mountain’s feet. Pass the living site of the mine and we’ll find it.” He pointed at the metal gate. From there, the team separated. Axel went in the control tower, which was the cabin from before. Doc exanimated one of the bandits’ helicopters while Catherine with Rick made their way to the living site. They passed the gate and found six or more box containers with houses size. Some of them were linked together with metal tubes of the sort. Painted on the metal wall were serial numbers and the Genesis logo. Catherine noticed that there were no bullets holes on any of these containers. But there were bloodstains, lot of them. Both on the wall and long trails on the rocky ground. All the trails led to the path that seemed to lead to the mountain. The blood had dried up from a long time ago. Beside them were weird footprints, laid rather deep in the ground. Rick crouched down and examined the blood.

“Look pretty brutal, different from the usual bandit things. What do you think of it?”

“I don’t know. But we are about to find out.” Catherine approached the closest container by silently teleported to it. She tried to open its doors and failed. She sat there beside the double door and waited for Rick to get to her location. When he did, he pressed his ear to the metal double door. Heard nothing, he decided to push the buttons on the panel. Only got a small buzz of denial afterward.

“It’s locked. Can you teleport behind it?”

“I can’t. I need to see my destination.”

“Okay, I’m gonna bust this door open. It might tick the bandits off, so cover me.”

Catherine nodded and turned around. She aimed her submachine gun in different directions. Rick reached his arm back and punched a hole in between the double door with his right hand. That created a loud noise that shook Catherine’s bones. He pulled back his fist, placed his hand on each side and forcefully spread doors open. A nasty screeching sound send a vibration to their inner ears as he got it open inch by inch. He got the double opened enough to poke his head inside. After his eyes made it clear that there was no one inside, Rick then opened the door fully. That gave him enough space to step in the container with Catherine.

The inside was brightly lit and did not have any trace of any foul smell, a good sign in Rick’s mind. They saw a few tables with glimmering blue crystal pieces and tools on top, suggested this container to be a workshop. Catherine passed by the workshop tables with her gun pointed.

“No smell of blood, the door is locked from the inside, and the lights are on. That means someone is home.” He took a long breath and start yelling. “This is the Foundation. I am agent 056. Don’t be afraid, my friends. We are here to help you.” There was only silence.

Catherine commented, “You know, your voice sounds like an angry bar keeper. Not the best way to call for scared miners. Let me try.” She raised her volume in the last two sentences. “Everything’s okay, just come out. The bandits are gone.”

“Are you sure of that?” Rick whispered.

“SHH.” She put a finger near her mouth and focused her hearing. That dead silence remained. Catherine stepped in further and reached the intersection. Through it, she entered the next container. She looked down with a confused look in her eyes. “Eh, is this what you guys from the outside call partying?”

“What do you mean?” Rick put a piece of crystal down and ran to Catherine. He too saw what Catherine meant.

“Oh, what the Fringe toast is that?”

This container seemed to serve as a living room. More accurately, used to serve as a living room. Now, it is just a room with a broken television, smashed sofa, shattered glass table and a giant dirt-covered hole in the middle.

“Well, let just, eh. You know what? Just walk around it. Maybe we’ll find”

Rick grabbed her arm. “No! Haven’t you seen movies?”

Catherine got his arm off and said. “No, I don’t have the time for them.”

“Terrible things always happen when someone does something like that. Could be a giant sum bitch monster pops out of the hole and grab you. Maybe they are the things that caught the miners and the bandits. Maybe that’s why everything is so quiet.”

“How do you know? We have not seen all the rooms yet.”

“So, want to take the risk of becoming possible snack for a monster for a low chance of finding something.”

Catherine looked back at the hole. The dirt around the opening shifted slightly and fell in. “Yeah, you got a point. Fuck this.”

They both exited the container through the way they came and found Doc waiting outside with his submachine gun. “Found something Doc?” Rick asked.

“No, not much beside the warm engines. Meaning the bandits should be close but well, not close enough to hear the plane and us.”

“I don’t think we have to worry about them.” Axel got out of his invisibility behind Doc’s back. His sudden appearance made the Emboar and Catherine nearly jump, while Doc’s half computer brain and cybernetic body had prevented him from doing so.

“Dude, stop that!”

“Sorry, habit.”

“Phew. Okay. So what the fuck are we dealing with?”

“I found this from the security cams. Have a look and decide for yourself.” Axel took out the tube device and pushed a button on it. A hologram screen with the footage from a camera located in front of the mine was projected in the air. They saw a group of bandits wearing the same Bandit Kingdom armor. All were coming in a large opening hole. In their hands were guns, blades and even chainsaws. Stood in front was the Zoroark knight. The same one that had accompanied the Bandits King during his raid on the colonies Axel was in charge of. He said something to the other bandits while pointing his finger. All then disappeared into the mine.

“So what?”

“Are you suggesting that since they are in the mine, we don’t have to worry?”

“No, just wait.” Axel then sped up the footage. He stopped the footage at one point when quick flashes of light were coming from the darkness. Axel returned the footage into regular speed. A dark smoke escaped the mine and formed into the Zoroark. The other bandits did not come out with him.

“From several other cameras, the Zoroark you saw had made his way back into one of the helicopter and left.”

“So, what the fuck is in the mine?” Unknown to Catherine, a dark purple aura cloud was slowly made its way out of the fabric on the back of her coat.

“These.” Axel changed the footage into the recording of the night before. It was showing the scene when various kind of Pokémon in Genesis uniform were running away from something. And soon that thing stepped out of the shadow and revealed it to be hulking Armaldo. The Pokémon pass the camera and later got a miner between its claws. The miner appeared to scream when the claws clamped his rib case. A line of blood was drawn on the ground. The Armaldo then returned to the shadow. The footage stopped there.

“What the hell is that thing? Look like a Dunsparce on steroid.”

“Don’t know. But there are a lot more of those things. They took all the miners. This footage is the least gruesome of all.”

“See, Catherine that could be your end.”

“Pff, by that logic some fuck ass monster is going to”

‘Keeeeeeeee.’ From the door Rick had punched open, an abnormally large Anorith jumped out, lunging itself at Catherine. It shrieked and armed the twin claws near its head. Catherine heard the nasty sound and a sudden heaviness on her back. The Anorith dug its claws into her back. The points of its claws got in her flesh but could not get through her hard as iron bone. Anima and Lady Death placement also hindered it as well. Catherine screamed while a dark aura leaked out from her back and grew abruptly. It manifested itself into a fuzzy shape of a bone hand and grabbed the Anorith by the head. The hand then squeezed down on it, made a crunching sound. The Anorith was then yanked out from Catherine’s back and thrown back inside the container house; banged itself into the wall. Finished the deed the hand retracted back into Catherine.

When the Aronith hit the wall, Catherine turned back and saw the abomination in front of her and fired the submachine gun. A steady stream of bullets pinpointed the Anorith head and blew off the eye on its left side. The Pokémon stopped for pain but then quickly moved forward with by twisting its body. It then lunged itself again. Frustrated with the weapon, Catherine threw it at the Anorith. The gun hit the Anorith and stopped it in midair. After gravity took the Pokémon, she got out Cerberus and fired rounds after rounds of incendiary orbs at the Aronith. The Pokémon soon bore a black char on its body and lied on its back after Catherine had empty her magazine. Smoke and smell of crisp then came from its body. The multi feather like limbs on its side bent like cooked crab legs. Catherine pulled out her Anima and charged up Psychic bullets. She fired in the middle of the Anorith body, exactly three times. The purple torpedoes hit and separated the limbs from its body with crisp snapping sound. The Pokémon shook and let out a weak cry. Catherine teleported beside it and stomped the Pokémon with her weight. Its remaining liquid was sprayed on the metal floor and her boots.

“Well fuck you then!” Catherine said. Breathed spastically, she stomped once more on the lifeless body, squeezed the last of the red and green liquid. After dragged the sole of her boots against a rug nearby, she turned around. Noticed the look on everyone’s faces, Catherine collected herself and straighten her coat. “Come on, you saw me done crazier shit. I was startled.”

“Yes, that was. I cannot say unexpected because I have expected a similar reaction. A bit wasteful of ammo, though. But nothing too concerning. Attitude seem excessively extreme but understandable.” Doc said and took a quick breath. ‘Well, clean up your boots. We still need to rescue the miners and exterminate those, things.”

“Are you alright, Catherine? Turn around and let me see.” Axel said as he checked on the two bloody holes on her back.

She reached her hand back and felt the dampness on her coat. Worked her way to the torn fabric and bit her tongue when she touched the opened wound. “Shit, this is my only coat.” She stomped on the Anorith again. No resistance came from the body anymore. “Fix the wound first. The fabricator can fix your coat, later. Give me your arm. This will sting a bit.” Axel injected her arm with a syringe with the healing fluid.

“Thanks.” Catherine said before Axel took the needle out of her vein.

Axel said. “Why didn’t the barrier work?”

“Sorry.” Catherine reached back for the device, “Forget to turn this fucking thing on all the time.”

Axel said, “The only one you should say sorry to is yourself. You should always turn it on before leaving the base.”

“A bit too late for that. Agh shit, it does sting.” Catherine closed one of her eyes as the drug take effect. That and her self-healing quickly patched up the skin. Nevertheless, the damage tissues would still make the rest of that day a little more unpleasant. She continued. “I’m so used to using the move Barrier that I just find this thing unnecessary.”

Doc said, “But having a little extra protection for this kind of ambush is vital.”

“I know, I know. I felt it. Stop nagging.”

“And they can do more than just absorbing hits. Many barriers have some extra special features. I’ll show you the shop that sells them later.”

“Yeah, sure, I’ll keep that in mind.” Catherine looked back at the Anorith. “Irrelevant question, but do you know what the hell that thing is?”

Doc examined the dead Pokémon. “I don’t know, but it looks like the Pokémon in the footage. A smaller version of it. Could be a pre-evolution.”

Rick said, “These things have babies? There got to be a nest nearby. We’re gonna need backup for that.”

“Already on it.” Axel said and turned around. He saw another Killian plane on the horizon. “I called the moment I saw the footage.”

“Good. Now, let’s give them a proper greeting.” Doc said.

Axel and Doc then started to walk to the landing pad while chatting and proposed a few approaches. But Rick stood still in that one spot the whole time. The team did not seem to notice because Rick would always make himself known by his commentaries. However, that time, he was silent, quite different from his usual self. Usually, when he saw someone pulled an overkill like that, his first reaction would be: “That was friggin epic.” But that Anorith killed, it just silenced him. Not because of the brutality in the kill itself, but something he saw in that moment. The hand’s texture and the darkness that briefly took over Catherine’s eyes. And in the deep and hard to find a corner of his mind, a similar image in the past popped up. Catherine stopped cursing at the corpse and picked up her submachine gun. She saw Rick was still standing like a statue.

She asked, tried to sound gentle. “Were you standing there the whole time?’ Rick didn’t answer her. ‘Hey, Rick, are you okay?”

Rick shook his head. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just having a brain fart.”

“Okayyyyyy. I have no idea what that is. Just get your ass rolling. We got company soon.”

“Oh really?” He looked at the landing pad after hearing the sound of engines running. “I’ll get to it.”

“Yeah, you do that. I got to get this shit off my boots.” Catherine then sat down and cleaned the rings on her boot. The look and Rick’s reaction struck her as odd. But she just let him walked to the landing pad without exchanging another word. For she had something else on her mind.

 _“What the fuck was that?”_ Catherine asked inside her head.

_“That was a new skill that I have created for us.”_

_‘What? And how?’_

_“At its core, it was just your body’s reflex. Moments when your body gains instant control without the need of asking for the mind’s permission. And I simply aided it during the process. The part that saddened me is that your body sensed the Pokémon but you just ignore it.  Like you been ignoring me all these years. But fortunately, the body has me to count on, from now that is.”_

_“How did you?”_

_“Well, lately, you have been letting me out more frequent than usual. That gave me a lot of chance to explore the possibilities. And eventually, I’ll find a way. That skill was the first step.”_

_“A way for what?”_

_“The thing that I have always wanted. Control.”_

_“You can’t.”_

_“For now, but some day in the future.”_

_“Again. Why?”_

_“Oh, you will never understand. You are like a child. Ignorant and fearful. You obviously have no idea how much power you possess. You don’t even know how to use it right. And you are aimless, no purpose. You are wasting your, no, mine potentials, day by day. It would be better if I am the one who command this body. Why don’t you just spare us the trouble? You don’t know what to do with your life then why live it? Give me control. It is sooner or later it’s going to happen.”_

The voice let out a taunting laugh. It had her stumped for a moment. Then Catherine grinned and laughed along with it. _“Wow, your words stay the same as before. That’s got to be the first. And to your dilemma. Boo fucking hoo. Isn’t that’s how it goes? What did you say before? Things will never go your way, in life. Or was it just something you shit out to convince me joining this mercenary band. A mean to get you closer to all the new toys that you could play with? Nice try. But I’m not falling for that crap.”_

_“Well, you don’t want me, us to be used by them so I was thinking: “What’s so wrong with the other way around.””_

_“Oh, I see. So all that talk was bullshit. You didn’t care much for me, as usual.”_

_“Always.”_

_“It’s a bad day to remind me of your true nature. Lately, I was letting my guard down. Thanks for the reminder.”_

_“My nature? My nature is the core of evolution itself. The strong prevail the weak parish. Simple and pure. You followed that path the past few weeks, and somehow you failed to understand.”_

_“Don’t give me that voice. I understand fully what the fuck is going on. You praise suffering and power, nothing more. Your point of existence is only limited to those. To me, they just dull and boring.”_

_“How dare you!”_

_“For once. I do enjoy killing the deserving. But not the reason who think it is. I do it as a part of cleansing this world. It’s the satisfaction of cleaning a golden vase of all the dirt. Your idea of killing is to prove your power. Killing is your only call in life. If that is what you call purpose, then what’s the fun in that?”_

_”You igno-.”_

_“Here is my reminder. You are in me. I am in control and you are my bitch. Therefore I call all the shots. And another one, I am and will be nobody’s bitch. So consequently, you will never be in control. I don’t know what you can do but I will never let you have your way. Not when I working here, near the resources for your crave of destruction. This world is doing badly enough without you.”_

_“You don’t care for this world and it doesn’t care for you, then why?”_

_“I don’t know. There are three billion civilized Pokémon in this world. Chances are, someone in that number did care about me. My mother, Azazel, my uncle, sometimes. There might be more. But how could I know when I let you kill them all? Yes, I am aimless, for now, but some day in the future, I won’t. One day I’ll find my true purpose. And that day is my goal.”_

_“Did you just?”_

_“Noted your concern and thank you for the skill. It would come in handy in the future. But now, I command you to shut the fuck up!”_

The voice in her head was then silenced completely. Took Catherine a full minute to realize that had happened. During that time, Catherine got a numbing sensation ran from her head all the way to the tips of her toes. Then she started laughing like an idiot. As if she was a Pokémon, who was lowered into a Sharpedo tanks with a bleeding nose. Yet she somehow made it out alive in the end. She got all the rights to laugh. She kept that smile on her face for more than a minute. And stopped abruptly when her lungs collapsed. Almost choked from the excessive laughter, she coughed and filled her lungs again. Catherine then remembered her job. Seeing the Killian plane was about to land, she quickly teleported to the landing pad.

The team was at the middle section of the landing pad. They had anticipated the plane to land on where their own was. The Killian’s plane duel engines switched from horizontal to vertical, shooting streams of hot air downward. Catherine shielded her eyes while her pigtails were blown back from the heatwave. Rick and Doc seem to be fine with it. Axel was a bit more unusual. He got his orange orb surrounding him. And that somehow made him unflinching to the heat. The plane extended its landing gears and shut off the engines slowly. The landing gear contacted the ground gently.

Rick asked. “So, which team did you get?”

Axel said, “You’ll know soon enough.”

The haul began to open up and five Pokémon silhouettes were slowly revealed. “Hi, Axel!” Celeste’s voice came out in sync with a waving motion of one silhouette.

“Heh, figure.” Rick said.

“Well, this is a rescue and possible extermination, better have someone we trust. And was designed for the job.” Axel said.

The Manectric hopped off the plane, followed by Craig. “G’day, mate. Long time no sees.”

“A few weeks is far from long, Craig.” Doc said.

“Hello.”; “Hey” Bryan and Leon said in order.

“Hey, Celeste? How are ya doing, girl? Heard you got effed up pretty bad. Feeling better?” Rick asked.

“Doing better now, thanks, Rick.” She said before turned to Catherine and winked at her. To that, Catherine quickly saluted and reloaded her shotgun.

“So, Axel gave us a brief on this mission. You want us to help you rescue some miners?” Celeste said.

“Precisely, as they were abducted by giant mutated feral bugs. They are our employees so it is only fair to save them.” Doc said.

“Okay, that’s a bit stranger than usual. But sure, we are here to help.” Celeste raised her metal fist and said enthusiastically. “So let’s get going, Pokémon!”

“I don’t know about that. I don’t do too well with bugs.” Bryan said and hid behind Leon’s mane. The Chespin twisted a lock of the Keldeo’s hair.

“Would you just get over it? You have armor plating all over. And your roll out would crush them like Dunsparce.” Leon said and shook Bryan’s paw off his mane.

“They are just icky to me, that’s all.”

“Seriously? There are Pokémon probably dying and you worry about bities, mate?” Craig said. The Manectric beside him shook its head as if understanding its master’s reaction.

“Well, personal phobias should be put aside. Suggest listening to Craig and get on with the mission.” Doc said.

“Okay, that is enough chatting. Please show us the site and we’ll get going.” Celeste said.

“Follow me.” Axel said.

The two teams got through the gate and passed the container houses. Leon pointed his horn at the burnt and horribly mangled body of the Anorith to Bryan. A clear attempt to mess with him. Bryan didn’t take it too kindly as he plucked a good chunk of hair from Leon’s mane. Catherine gave the other a fair warning about the Anorith. And always be mindful of the ground underneath. Rick pointed the blood trails and the dents on the ground. Craig was first to examine them. The Monferno said it didn’t reveal much besides whatever had dragged that miner was big and heavy. And had judged from the Anorith’s body, he thought that Pokémon had a high chance to be the evolution: Armaldo. Axel showed him the footage and confirmed it. Craig seemed to be the only one who know the name of the Pokémon. For all but him were shocked to see the footages.

The group then turned left and to the rock-filled trail that led to the mountain they went. They went in deeper and deeper, approaching the mine.

“So, what do you know about these “Armaldo”, Craig?” Celeste said.

“Well, one thing, these blokes aren’t something you can find at this age and time.”

“Whaddaya mean? They time travel?” Bryan said.

“Eh,” Craig had to pause a good while for that. “No, Bryan. That would be stupid. You see, these Pokémon are all prehistoric Pokémon. Before we only know of their existence through fossils.”

“And now we got a few live ones. So, what do you think of that?” Leon said.

“Well, I have a theory. Might sound far-fetched but listen to anyway. Chances are these things had been living or hibernating in this mountain for thousands of years. And the mining operations must have disturbed them. Explain the holes started appearing in the mine.”

“That is farfetched, mate. How do they survive all these years then? Hibernating doesn’t mean surviving multiple climate and geographic shifts.”

“That is something I want and don’t want to find out at the same time. Quite a paradox isn’t it?”

“Uh huh.” Craig said.

“Never know that you are the archeologic type Craig.” Axel said.

“Nah, just common knowledge, mate.”

They walked up a steep path. From there entrance of the mine was seen. On their way, they found two metal creates almost as big as Rick. They were covered in thermal insulation materials. Words printed next to their serial number said “Explosive”.

“Damn, that is huge. What are they mining here?” Rick asked as he looked up at the vehicle.

“From the records, I found in the control room, this is a mine for binary crystals.”

“What the fuck are those?” Catherine asked.

“Basically the main component of the digital fabricators. Our exclusive tech so we’ll need a lot of them. But sadly they are extremely rare. Some say they came from space, but that is another theory. I don’t deny it but now is not the time to explain.”

The Manectric beside Craig sniffed the air and glared its fangs. It started to get agitated. Craig held the electric type by the equipment on its back. “Easy Raiden, easy boy.” Craig patted it on the head. “We are getting close.”

Leon prepped up his Gatling guns, let them spin once. Bryan summoned up a pair of goggles and put it on. Doc told everyone to stop walking before he performed another scan. He did and still got no movement from inside the mine. “Hum? Still nothing. Strange.”

“Something in the air just smells wrong to him. He can sense something that we can’t.”

They finally reached the entrance. There was mining equipment scattered around the hole in the mountain. There was also a small tent in one corner, filled with tools and a worktable. The mine entrance was a wide pitch back rectangle. Only a few wires could be seen sticking out of the darkness. All the wires were connected to a quiet generator.

The group looked at the entrance and sensed dread oozed from it. The natural light in the area was beginning to die slowly. The sun was settling down from the other side of the mountain. The wind blew through the cracks in the rock formations, created eerie noises. Like moaning that echoed in the distance. All just made the atmosphere the more unsettling. Everyone besides Bryan kept a straight face and let the chill wind gently rubbed their back. The group of agent tried to occupy every space in their mind with concentration, leaving no room for fear.  

“Patient everyone. We’ll do something with that generator.” Doc said and signaled Axel to follow him. Doc opened up the inside of the machine and adjusting the motor and wires inside. While Doc and Axel were looking for a way to restore the light within the mine; Celeste and Leon were trying to comfort Bryan; Rick was alone with his thoughts; Craig was leading Raiden around the miner’s equipment and Catherine was wandering around the entrance. She then decided to check on the tent. Before that, she had a quick glance at Bryan. The anxious expression on his face caused her to genuinely feel sorry for the kid. Then Celeste gave him what looked like a piece of sweet and restored the cheerful look on the Chespin’s face. Catherine did not know if it was funny or sad to see that. Bryan might be among a group of mercenaries, yet he still had some pieces of child innocence left inside. She stepped into the tent and found a strange piece of equipment laid on the worktable. It looked like a gun with a rather long barrel. Attached to it were another machinery. They got the look of being slapped together as wires of red and green were exposed in a chaotic fashion. All the machine parts were Genesis branded. But there was a large tube canister attached to the end of the “stock”. Painted on said canister was the Infinity symbol. She picked it up and tested its weight. Quite heavy but not to the point she could not handle. She put her hand on the trigger, minding the wires. She aimed it at the wall and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.

“What you got there?”

Catherine turned around and saw Craig. “I don’t know. Look like a Genesis made gun but it has Infinity symbol on it.”

“Oh, let me see.” She handed him the equipment. He had a look at its sides and said. “Ha, the clever bloke he was. This is Genesis laser cutter. This thing can easily cut through solid rocks like butter. And he somehow combined it with an Infinity engine, which would make it never run out of power. Perfect for extended mining operations. Really clever. Don’t worry about the Infinity part. It’s just a modification. So nothing to worry about. No one is cheating behind our backs.”

“Can I take it?”

“Go ahead, the bloke is probably dead anyway.”

“What if we are about to rescue him?”

“Then you give it back later. No big deal. Just keep it, could come in handy.”

“And how do I turn it on.”

“Here, this switch.” Craig pointed at the switch on the side. “For safety I guess.”

Axel pulled a core and turned on the generator. A chain of light hanging from the mine’s ceiling backed online, one by one.

“We got lights.” Bryan said.

“Thanks captain Obvious.” Leon said.

“Well. It’s time, let’s go.” Craig said as he stepped out of the tent.

All then set foot in the mine. The lights overhead were not as bright as they hope. But that was still a big different to no light at all. They walked in and found a long, single railroad underneath their feet. A few meters from the entrance and one could see a cart hovered above the rail. Inside it were a few broken pieces of blue crystals and a darkened puddle of blood. A finger was inside as well.

Slowly and carefully, they followed the rest of the rail. Body parts and Pokémon remains were scattered. All the bodies were disfigured and twisted. A smell of decomposing flesh was noticeable as they went on. However, the deeper they got, a new and much fouler scent mixed in. Soon the smell was unbearable and all got their gas mask on. They reduced talking to a minimum and switched to hand signals. The wind blew and howled behind their backs. Catherine turned back. Just to make sure that was, in fact, the wind and not the Armaldo’s breath that made the sound. Leon tilted his head back from time to time, checked to see if Bryan was doing all right. Doc performed a scan every 100 meters and each time yielded the same result, nothing.

Then the trail ended and they found one explosive crate on the way. This one was opened and completely empty. On the ground near it, were a detonator and a long wire. The mine walls were no longer smooth from that point on. It was rugged and chunks of rocks were displayed. Deeper and they found the blue binary crystals stuck to the rough walls. The lights came from within each crystal proven to be a much more effective light source. They kept on moving forward until they found a deep and large crevice on the ground. Beneath it was lit up by a faint blue light. Raiden began to get more agitated when he sniffed around the crevice.

“I see what happened.” Axel said. “The miners recently blew this part open in order to extend the mine. The impact of the blast must have triggered the Armaldo. From down there, the Armaldo dug this hole and got to the living area.”

“Still, haven’t answer why the Armaldo are still alive.” Leon said.

“We might find that out soon.” Doc said.

They walked to the crevice and found another area underneath. One could access this section with a slope created by smashed rocks. The slope looked rather unstable and narrow, so they took a turn, one by one. That also helped avoid making too much noise. All aimed their weapons around, checking for any kind of threat.

Catherine looked down while waiting for her turn.  Rick stood by her side. He then told her to step back from the crevice and lead her back to the empty explosive crate. He whispered. “Hey, is everything okay with you?”

“Yeah, why shouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know. You were something fierce back there.”

“Oh, cmon. The fucker got a jump on me. You would do the same, if not worse.”

“And what is that weird arm-like thing?”

“Oh, it’s my new, trick. Something I picked up during my time in the medical wing. Like it?”

Rick avoided her gaze. “Well, it’s certainly out there but”

“Okay, spill it out. Obviously, something is up with you. What the fuck is bothering you, anyway?”

“If you say so, then I’ll make it quick. That arm, it’s not you. It something else, isn’t it?”

Catherine put up a fake smile. “Oh cmon, that’s bullshit. It’s just me. What else could it be? Oh, I know that look. You are trying to pull some philosophers’ bullshit, isn’t it? If you are worry about my behaviors then this is not the right time.”

“It’s not.” Rick seem determent. “I’m not a psychologist so yes, I don’t know what you were thinking. What I want to know is what the hell happen to you when you did that “trick”. Those eyes, how did they change? “

“What, it’s a, eh, Celestian thing. I am the only one you see so you might find it weird. We have that shit all the time.”

“Except I saw the same thing but with bandits originated from Agni nation.”

“Okay. What the fuck are you trying to pull? Interrogate criminal? You are starting to piss me off.” She tried not the yell.

“That bandit almost killed me when I was still in The Gate mode. He slaughtered hundreds of Pokémon and said he was just doing what he was told. When I fought him, he had the dark aura around him with the texture of that hand and his eye was complete darkness, just like yours. He said that thing I was witnessing was his master and I should be fearful of it.”

“It...” Catherine was speechless. She did not know how to get an answer to that. Only a few sentences and it had already overloaded her. “Master” that word somehow disturbed her more than it should. Is that what would happen if the voice found the way to control her? And what would Rick think of her know? If he told Genesis about this then she could be killed.

“So that is how you defeat the King. Because of whatever that thing is.” He sighed. “I’m not accusing you or anything. I’m sorry if I sound like that. And I’m not judging you either. I never will. I have something similar and I have suffered enough for it. I also have made a lot of mistakes because of it. Mistakes that I would forever regret. I just don’t want to you to do something that you would regret like I did. Especially when what inside you is much more powerful than what I have.” He patted on her shoulder, as gently as he could. “Can I still trust you with something like that inside?”

Catherine swallowed her words and said. “I know what you are trying to reach. But I can’t promise anything. Yes, it’s something else and yes, I’m still struggling to control it.” She sat on a nearby rock. Her face failed to meet Rick’s. “But this, I can promise, I will do my fucking best to keep it from harming anyone that aren’t the bandits. You have no choice but to trust me on that. Like me when I have no choice but to join you guys. Just forget about this and grab your gun. We got miners to rescue. Just save us the time and focus on that. And god damn it, just let me deal with my own shit.”

“I see, that’s how it’s going to be then. I understand. But remember, that thing, if it got out of hand would not be just your shit.” Rick returned to the crevice and was ready to take his turn. Both then heard Celeste said through the communicator.

“Rick and Catherine, where did you go? There is something you should see down here.”

“I’m coming, lady and gents.” Rick said before coming down. He struggled to get a foothold on the unstable rocks. After a few feet, he just forgot everything and slid down. Thankfully, that did not cause too much of a ruckus. “Holy Arceus’s balls sack what the hell is that?”

“Keep it down, Rick.”

“Catherine…Catherine, come down here quick, we need you.” Celeste said.

Catherine shook her head and got up. ‘”Still” huh, since when?’ Catherine whispered to herself and then later came down the crevice with a few teleport bursts. She did not seem to notice that the voice in her head had been quiet the whole time. That voice might be quiet but her mind sure was not. As she constantly asking herself questions that, she could not yet answer.

She was finally under the crevice and saw what they were referring to. The cave wall down here smooth and round, like a manmade tunnel. There were bricks struck out of the wall. All carved from stone in the shape of precise cubes. They were covered with runes that let out a faint glow. A closer look and they could see small pieces of binary crystals made up these runes. Among these runes were a few Unown symbol. Axel said, “I don’t know if you can read these. But” he was interrupted by Catherine’s “Yes”.

She examined the bricks and said. “Okay, this is quite painfully obvious.”

“What do they say?” Axel said.

Catherine pointed at one on the ceiling. “That one said: “Beware.” Same goes for that one, that one and that one.” She pointed at a slab. “And that one over there said: “She is not the icon of fertility but a beast.” So these bricks basically say: “Fuck off.” We are definitely going the right way.”

“Hey guys, look at what I’ve found.” Celeste said behind the dune of crushed rock. The group walked around it and found more of the area. The smooth and round path ran straight for 200 more meters and was the blocked by a stonewall. Catherine looked at the bricks around this section and found different messages written on them.

“Huh, these fuckers need to make up their mind.”

Doc said. “What do they say?”

“Praise for this goddess of “fertility” and her workers. That’s odd.”

“Axel had a look at these rocks.” Celeste touched to rock wall that blocked the exit. The rocks there were all melted together like a chunk of chocolate left in the sun and hastily put back inside the freezer. Axel then touched it and had a look up. “What do you think caused it, Axel?”

Axel said, “Nuclear blasts. I saw things like this in the Zeniburg site.”

“Hey, you two, Doc thinks of something.” Leon said through the comm.

They gathered around the Alakazam. “I think I know what this place is. Just want to put it out fast, Need to save lives afterward.” Doc cleared his throat. “E-hem, allow me. So I don’t know how the Armaldos are still alive. But I have some idea of what this place might be. This is a shrine for some kind of cult. And judging from the geography shift and the use of binary crystals, this cult could be run by humans.”

“Okay, you lost me there mate. How?”

“Like I said, geography shift. This very tunnel used to connect directly to the surface. And after a few thousand years or more, they were pushed down here. Human seems to fit in the timeline. And the binary crystals. The only reason we are using it is because of we reverse engineer human techs. Human and Genesis are the only consumers of these crystals and Genesis was not here a few thousand years ago, you’ll figure it out.”

Catherine said. “A human cult that worshiped Pokémon. A bit backward don’t you think?”

Axel crossed his arm. “But the main mysteries are still there.”

“Well, might I barge in, mate?”

“Go ahead.”

“Well, since prehistoric Pokémon existed way before human time. Chances are the human had revived these things in the past. And most revived prehistoric Pokémon were injected with various chemicals that would reanimate and sustain them for a really long time. That might explain why they are still here.”

“That is a plausible assumption. That leaves only one mystery left. What is this Goddess of fertility slash beast?”

An alien cry then echoed through the tunnel.

Celeste said. “We spent enough time with the investigation. Let’s get back to the miners.”

“Right!” Everyone but Doc and Axel said.

“Shh, don’t yell.”

“Oh, sorry, dude.”

Doc’s motion sensor finally detected movements up ahead. He instructed everyone to lay low and advance forward. Craig commanded Raiden to stay still and calm down. Despite the urge to ran forward and practice its animalistic instinct, Raiden obeyed. Craig then heard something up front. He grabbed the harpoon gun on his back and pushed a button on it. A sharp crystal harpoon was fabricated at the end of the barrel. He made the sign for Axel to follow his steps. Celeste caught up with the signals and instructed everyone to move forward in a single line, with Rick being the last. Craig got to behind large pedestal and saw what made the noise. It was what else but the Armaldo.

Six of them were there, occupying the section up ahead. Some of them stood still and motionless. Some of them were walking around, patrolling and making a weird clicking noise in between their name. Craig made the sign for Axel to come to him, slowly.

“Look at those things, mate.”

“I saw. How many do you think are there?”

“I saw 6 but wait.” He focused his hearing once again. And then popped his head up. “Yeah, we have two more Anorith. Look at the floor near the corner, easy to miss.”

Axel peeked “Saw them. So only 8. Six Armaldo and two Anotith.’ The two Anorith then moved out of the corner and patrolling the center area. ‘These are just the guards. The rest must be resting deep inside this tunnel.”

“Let me have a closer look at these chums.” Craig aimed at the Armaldo through the scope on his harpoon gun. He observed them closely and said “These things had those weird sideway eyes, meaning they have limited vision and a humongous blind spot. Since they are active at night and live in a tunnel, I guess they don’t need that.”

“What make you think they are active at night?”

“It’s a guess, based on most feral bug types’ behaviors. Since these oversize bugs are the ancestors of today bug type, they should share some characteristics and such. And come on mate, look at their bloody eyes. Sunlight will fry them quicker than you can say, “Shag on a rock”.” Craig pushed a button on the scope. It somehow made a camera click sound. “I’m will show this to the professor and ask him for a nice cool glass of amber fluid.”

“Good, what else can you see from them?”

“Don’t know about their other senses. But since the body doesn’t fit to be a speedy or stealth predator, I guess the other senses are not needed. I mean if they have a good hearing, they would have killed us by now. The armor looks quite sturdy, though. Going to need my stronger harpoon for them. He pushed a button on his harpoon gun and harpoon in the barrel changed shape, became thicker and sharper. Tranquilizer darts probably wouldn’t pierce through.”

“Well I have a few armor piercing darts for this kind of situation.” Celeste whispered behind their backs. She was kneeling behind them. “So, what do we got?”

Craig coughed and signaled Celeste to give him some space. He then gave Axel a metal orb. “A containment field. Sneak behind their backside and trap them in. Looking for any kind of extra beast that need to take care of. And you Celeste, have a peek at these. There are eight of them, look closely on the floor.”

She quickly popped her head up and her eyes scanned this section of the tunnel. “I got it.”

“Good. It’s up to the rest of you to kill them. Make it fast.” Axel said and took out his crossbow.

“Got it, mate”

“I will. And be careful out there.” Celeste said.

“I am, always.”

“Good. I shall coordinate everyone when you are done.”

Axel turned invisible and walked out of the hiding pedestal. He walked on a diagonal path and passed the first Armaldo while carefully avoiding the two Anorith on the floor. Then he swiftly moved the right and behind a waist tall wall. He got out of the Armado‘s sight, just in time for the invisibility to wear off. The ground here was designed to let the water run through. But lucky for Axel, the water had dried off a long time ago. Waited for the invisible drive on his barrier to recharge, he loaded an arrow to his crossbow. This one resemble Craig’s harpoon but smaller in comparison and have a black box attached to the end of it. The crossbow automatically prepped up the arrow. After that, he ran along the long wall in silent. He reached the end of the wall. From there, Axel got behind the last Armaldo without rattling anything. He turned on the invisibility field and got out of cover. He then pierced his vision further back at the tunnel. Seen nothing but endless and empty space, He took out the orb. With a button press, the orb opened up and started emitting the blue glow found in most Genesis’s fabricator. Axel tossed the orb on the ground, made it released a wall of blue force field that completely blocked the path behind him.

The Armaldo looked back and saw the blue wall. It raised its head and alerted its friends with a loud cry of their kind’s name. That one Armaldo suddenly got a massive crystal harpoon pierced through the head, right to the middle. Its eyes rolled back and it fell down on its face, nudging some part of the harpoon out from the back of its head. The other began to get aggressive and started scanning for threats, prepared themselves for combat. They were about to advance forward until Celeste’s voice that said “Now” came. The smaller Anorith suddenly slammed into the ground with an unknown force. A grenade and a spinning white ball then flew to the group of Armaldo in the left and right side. They were followed by an Icy Wind attack in the midfield. The orb directly hit a charging Armaldo in the right corner and set off a white explosion of below zero nitrogen air. The grenade went to the left and exploded approximately near a group of Armaldo there with similar effect. The Icy wind hit where most of the Armaldo and the Anorith were. Its spread caught them all in one go. The combine attacks failed to freeze them in place but manage to greatly reduce their movement speed. Which almost made them stood still because of their already dismal speed. Axel got out of the invisible state and fired his crossbow at the nearest Anorith. The arrow hit it in the back. The box behind the arrow let out a beeping sound and a blinking red light. Soon the beeping turned high pitch and the arrow exploded, scooped a hole on its back. The Pokémon fell down, twitching. Blood gushed and ran all over the floor. The Armaldo let out a few click and a cry of its name before closed its eyes. The sound of grinding stone was heard somewhere and stopped abruptly. Suddenly a metal spinning spike ball flew to an Armaldo in the middle and drilled right into its chest. The ball spun on itself with great speed. Slowly and painfully buzz-sawed its way through the Armaldo’s body. Once the spike ball finished it continued in a straight path and did the same to another standing behind the first. Celeste fired her rocket at one Armaldo. But the Pokémon crossed its claws and shielded its face. It screamed its name and prompted the remaining Armaldo to do the same. They worked through the pain from the frostbite and charged forward. Catherine and Rick then fixed that with a Focus Blast and a salvo of six rockets respectively. Catherine’s Focus Blast finally got rid of the two Anorith and caught an Armaldo with the explosion. Rick’s rockets were left with the task of flying around and seeking targets. They killed the final Armaldo and finished off anything that didn’t quite dead-The bleeding out Armaldo was included.  

When the burning fire set by the rockets subsided, one Armaldo could still be seen crawling about. Craig shot another harpoon at it. Nailed the Pokémon’s head on the ground. Axel gave the clear signal and withdrew the wall.

“Good job, everyone.” Celeste said.

The group nodded and pressed on. It was not the time for them to celebrate yet. They still have a mission to do and lives were dependent on it. They traversed deeper in the tunnel. Found out more and more leftover body parts from both the miner and the bandits on their way. There were bones as well, but they have the texture of rock, almost fossilized. They then faced a split in the tunnel. The one on the left leading up and the other leading down. Raiden sniffed up something and told its master through a “Manectric” bark. Craig pointed at the left route.

“Okay, Rayden sniffed the scent of the miners this way. That means” he pointed the other ‘here may have, something else. We should split up and see.”

“Since my team is fit for scouting and rescuing, we’ll take left and you guys take the other path.” Celeste said.

“Yes, but there could be some unexpected enemies from both ends. Should one side been overrun then it would be hard for the other side the help. Or even worst, both could be under attack. Making it hard to, stay alive. Suggest we, investigate first and come up with a plan. Preparation is always important. We will stop here and gather up some visual. I have a spy bot. I shall use it and exanimate each route for further strategies.”

“That would take too long. I’ll go this side and you use the spy bot at the other. Two things at once, save us more time. I’ll report back and we made a new plan then.” Axel said.

“Good idea, mate.” Craig said.

“That sounds risky.  But, if you want to then go ahead.” Celeste said

“So, is everybody okay with this? Please do not yell like the last time.” Doc said.

They all nodded. “Good, then we shall proceed.”

Axel walked down the right path. Meanwhile, Doc summoned a small drone with four helicopter rotors. He controlled it with a hologram screen on his arm and made it hovered its way to the other path.

“Doctor, no offense, but that thing? All these Armaldo just need to look up and they could see it.” Leon said.

“Nah, don’t worry mate, these things have limited vision. With that kind of eyes, even if a chopper pass by and they couldn’t see it.”

“Hm, okay, turning on thermal sensors. Oh, there are a lot of heat signature up there. Going further.”

Axel’s voice then came through the communicators. “Okay, there’s a steep drop from here. Don’t run down this path, you will fall. There is a lot of weird sound coming from down here. Don’t know if you guys can hear it.’ The comm then went silent for half a minute. ‘I’m going down. Hope my wire is long enough for this.”

“Ah, found something. There are a foot soldiers or whatever is the proper term for bug types. I’m an engineer, not a biologist.  Behind those Armaldos are a few smaller Anorith.  And a cluster of heat signatures that different from the rest. Those must be the miners. Still alive but rather weak. Let’s hope that they are not the bandits. Most of them that is.”

“You don’t have a camera for that thing, mate?”

“Well I do, but the lighting is not optimum for it. Thermal sensor is better.”

Axel said. “The path lead to a large chamber in the cave. You have to see this. There are thousands of those things down here. I can also see the other connected chambers, well part of them from here. And I think the one with the miners is way up there. There are holes for these things to climb up into that chamber, but I don’t see any of them right now. And there is a long green tube connected to that chamber and lead to the ground down here.”

“What are they doing down there?” Craig said.

Axel said, “I don’t know. Wait.”

“Axel? Axel?” Celeste asked, sounded worried.

“SHH, you wanna get him killed?” Leon said.

“Okay. It’s clear again. They are just standing and raising their claws, clicking some kind of rhythm. All stood in a strange pattern, surrounding the tube. I’ll try to see what it is.”

Doc said. “Not recommend. Advancing further into danger is never recommended. We only need to.” Axel cut off the communication. “He cut me off.”

“Oh shit, what the fuck is he thinking?” Catherine said.

“I’ll go after him.” Celeste said.

“No, Axel can handle it.” Doc held Celeste arm with his right. “You are not good at stealth. Terrible idea. Do more harm than help.” Doc said while trying to get Axel back on the line.

“And if you stuck there, then we have more Pokémon to worry about.” Craig said.

The entire place suddenly shook. The alien shriek from before came back.

“Everyone. You won’t believe what I am seeing right now.” Axel's voice came again.

“Not this shit again.”

“It just emerged from the ground. It’s a gigantic Armaldo I think. Much larger than the rest. The large green tube was connected directly to its back. The thing has the size of 30 of those Armaldo. And that is only the part that I can see. More of its body was underground.”

“A queen?” Craig said. “I thought only Combee do that?”

“Now we know what “she” is.”

“Well. Not sure of that. Again arthropodology is not my expertise.”

“There is something on its head. It’s a. Hold on, let me get my scope.”

“No, Axel get out there. We got enough info of these things. Don’t risk it and return.” Celeste said and was answered with.

“It’s a plate. A green one.”

“A plate? What does he mean by that?” Celeste asked.

Rick said. “You know. Basically, a chunk of Arceus power crammed up into a stone plate. There are 18 of those for 18 types.” He shrugged. “That’s the clip note version.”

“Oh, so it’s like a game of trading card? Collect them all and you’ll get full set?” Bryan barged in their conversations. Everyone then gave a judgmental look at him. “Sorry.”

“This is a serious matter, mate. Act like it.”

“Okay. Axel, don’t try to get the plate. The miners are our priority.”

“I know. I’ll let Genesis handle this “queen”. We got to take the miners out first. You guys tried to get them out. I’ll stay here and observed them. Making sure they don’t go up.”

“Axel don’t.”

“Easy Celeste, I know what I’m doing. Have some fate in me.”

She took a deep breath and exhaled. “Alright. But again be careful Axel. I cannot stretch that enough.” Celeste said.

“I got it the last time.”

“Good luck with that, mate.”

“When things go south, just use the grenade I gave you.” Rick said.

“Yes, proceed with precaution.”

“Yeah, don’t fucking die, I still haven’t pay all the debts, yet.”

“Don’t make me laugh Catherine. It’s dangerous to my health right now.”

“That is not a joke. I hate owning Pokémon. Especially dead one.”

After everyone had turned off the comm links, Celeste said. “Okay, let get to the miners. Rick, you stay here and watch our back. Okay?”

“No prob.” He gave her a thumb up. “Hey Catherine, before you go. I got something for you.”

“Huh?” She was surprised that he called, but quickly approached him. He pressed a button on his belt, summoned up a heavy assault rifle. Its barrel was protected by thick metal coat decorated with a warning that said, ”Keep hands off the surface; Hot when to fire.”. Above the barrel was a handlebar covered in grease. This gun reeked with the smell of char and gunpowder. Rick held the gun by the bar and summoned a magazine. That magazine consisted of a big ammo box and a drum at the end of it. Through a ludicrously long sequence, he loaded the magazine in and locked it tight with a click.

“Just want to give you this. It’s a bit bigger for you but, these things won’t drop fast enough with your current load-out. Use this whenever you need to shoot your way out.” He handled the gun to her. Catherine grunted when she felt the weight of it. She then slowly adjusted it and grabbed the handle bar. Still struggled to aim the weapon because she couldn’t get the stock to press against her shoulder. “Maybe a little too big.”

“It’s okay, I’m good.’ She applied some psychic glow on it, lifting the gun up. 

“1000 rounds, all armor piercing. This thing can shoot down a plane if you can aim the damn thing up in the sky. It’s a 5* so please don’t lose it. Can I trust you with that?”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t die and bring it back to me.”

“Pf, of course. You can count on that.”

“Yeah, and that is the best I can help you. Good luck.”

Catherine paused for a while. “Hey, about the little.”

“Nah, no need for that. Like you said, just focus for now. And don’t be bothered by me. I trust ya. Do what you got to do.” He gave her a thumb up.

“Right.” She said with absolute certainty and deconstructed the gun. Rick grinned as he watched her followed the others.

They walked up the path and found a set of damaged stairs. As they were approaching the upper chamber, Celeste signaled Catherine and Craig to walk by her while the rest stay put. Accessed the digital fabricator on her arm, Celeste summoned a long white sniper rifle with a six shots crystal-like magazine. She tossed it at Craig then whispered to Catherine.  She told her to Burden everything in the chamber and let Craig and her take care of the rest. Celeste and Craig crouched down and moved slowly to the pedestals laid outside of the chamber’s entrance. While Catherine just teleported behind the pedestal on the left. Catherine peeked up, get a lock on her targets only one Armaldo and a dozen Anorith. She couldn’t focus her eyes long enough to look past them and saw what they were guarding. Catherine closed her eyes and used Calm mind. With her head was clear she touched the ground and prepare for the Burden attack. Celeste got the opposite pedestal and loaded the DMHP grenade in her launcher. She showed Catherine three of her fingers. And slowly retracted them before standing up and ran into the chamber. With a trigger pull, Celeste launched the grenade filled with drug near the heart of the chamber. The grenade bounced off the ground and began released a dense green wall of smoke. The sound of the grenade got Craig entering the chamber and primed the sniper rifle. Immediately after Celeste reached “one”, Catherine used Burden and affected the entire chamber with it. The Anoriths that were clinging on the wall or on the central piece of the room were pulled down by the hands of gravity. Their outer shells cracked as if the few feet drop was the equivalent of a skyscraper. The Armaldo were still standing firmly. Their body structure appeared to help them hold their ground. Failed to move their feet, the Armaldo and Anorith let their lungs to the brim with the green smoke. The drug took effect, disoriented and drove them confused. The Anorith were then released from the Burden. They then flipped themselves over and rested on their backs. The side feathers-like limbs moved at a relaxed pace. Worked through the smoke and trusted the clicking sound he heard, Craig fired Celeste’s sniper rifle at the source of the sound. A dart with a drill bit for the tip was shot out. Its heavy head made the dart moved with an arc. But Craig’s years of experience had got the dart rested at the Armaldo center mass. The drill bit activated and helped the dart got through the thick armor. As the dart slowly made its way inside, the sound it made was similar to a dentist’s drill. The dart stopped within the Armaldo’s flesh and injected a chemical into the Pokémon’s blood stream. That tranquilizer and the smoke was enough to knock the Armaldo down in two seconds. A thump was heard as the Pokémon fell to the side. Craig pulled the bolt handle on the sniper and focused his hearing, tried to find another target for the gun. He and Celeste waited for the smoke to die on its own before putting away their weapons.

When the smoke was clear, leaving behind a chamber with a dozen out cold bug type and a strange multi-inter-pods structure.  Celeste contacted Axel and he confirmed that the noise they made, did not attract anything down there. Catherine got out of the pedestal cover and gave the signal for everyone else to enter the chamber.

The group examined the structure. Against the rock walls were green and near transparent pods. They were containing various Pokémon. They could tell which were bandit or miners by the Genesis uniforms. There was still a lot of miners compared to bandits, thankfully. Celeste scanned them and most was still alive. All the pods were connected to a large tube above a broken, stone table that buried under layers of green mucus. And the tube was linked to the ceiling from there. Other than that, they could see the holes Axel mentioned but nothing was going through. Not at the moment. A closer look and one can see a few of those pods were just contain a red sludge. Every one of them knew what it is. Everyone looked away from seeing those. Some in disgust, other were troubled by it. But Celeste regained her focus. She did so by reminded herself that she had seen worse. Those faceless sludges were nothing compare to the butchered, crushed, burned or rotten faces she had seen during some rescue missions. She checked under her foot to see if there was a severed finger below it. A common practice that she did after her first rescue mission. Doc summoned a spray gun contain a blue liquid and started spraying at the holes. The blue substance expanded and gain the texture of thick blue jelly. The substance soon branched out and plugged all the holes.

“That should keep them busy for a while.” He said.

Catherine kneeled down to read the Unown letters on the table. “A sacrifice table. What is this place?”

“Well, since this is a cult. I guess it is normal for them to do that. So the pods melted the victims into the fluid. And this tube passed the fluid on to the “queen” for nourishment. How intriguing and disgusting. I cannot lie.” Doc said.

“No one is judging you, mate.” Craig summoned and abnormally huge hunting knife and walked to the unconscious Armaldo. He lifted the head’s armor plate up with a well-placed incision, exposing the pulsing flesh. “I’m no archeologist and neither are you. Just focus on the pods. Need to take these miners out before they become that red goo.” He then stabbed the blade in the Armaldo’s head with a firm thrust. Blood sprayed on his khaki shirt and gushing out like a waterfall when he pulled the blade out. He wiped the blood on his hand to his shirt and hat.

Celeste put her hand on her chin and had a quick glance at the group. Thought of something, she said.   
“Alright, I really don’t want to sound bossy, but it’s time to split up and go to work. Craig, Bryan, and Doc, can you stay here and get the miners out of the pods. Craig is good with the knife, Bryan you got the quill and Doc got his hand. Bryan, if this gross you out then I’ll assign another job for you. Are you fine with this? It will get messy.”

“I’ve seen worst. What about you, mate.” Craig turned to Doc.

“Fine by me.”

“I see grosser stuff from TV, so I’m good.”

They then got right to it. They cut the outer layer of the pod, made green ooze flowing out on the floor. All had their gas mask on so they did not know what the ooze smelt like. But there was a high possibility that it would the smell they got a few minutes earlier. None of them wanted to take off the mask off and tested the odor. “Okay, Catherine and Leon. I know I’m going to own you both a lot for this. Since you both have the fastest speed here, you will in charge of carrying these guys out. How much can you carry with your psychic power Catherine?”

“With the size of those guys, two.”

“Leon?”

“The same.”

“Need some more.” Celeste then touched her comm device. “Rick,”

“I got it, will be there and help you guys with it.”

“Since you are slow, can you carry like four in one trip?”

“Depend, but I’ll find some way to, my friend.”

“Great. After this, I’m going to take the three of you to a fancy restaurant for 5 days. Is it a good enough motivation for you? If not, pretty please.”

“Make it a glass of Bliss and I’m good.” Catherine said, “Oh and a box of ice cream.”

“That is much more manageable, thanks.”

“Hey, what you got for us? Where is our bloody reward? This is not exactly pleasant, either.” Craig put the first miner on the ground. His body and the miner were covered in a slippery slime. “No time for that, finish tasks first, reward later.” Doc said as he laid another miner on the ground.

“Okay, you all will get a drink, I promise.” She turned back to Catherine and Leon. “Okay, I’ll help you two with the first trip. After that, I’ll stay with the miners to nurse them back to health. Everybody understand their jobs?”

“Pretty straight forward if you ask me.” Leon said. Everyone else nodded.

“Right, let’s get to it! Sorry, it’s a bit cheesy but that’s all I have.”

Catherine just shrugged her shoulder and pointed the two miners on the ground. She encased them with bright purple glow and levitated them above her shoulders. Without a word, she sprinted down as fast as she could. She found Rick on her way out but did not say anything to him. She just ran straight to the entrance of the mine and laid the two miners near the tent. Leon arrived shortly after her, carrying two miners on his back. Both were held tight by blue transparent wires. Catherine helped him get them off from his back and laid them next to the other. They exchanged a short conversation about showers during the process. With everything done, they returned to the mine and met Rick in midway with four miners and Celeste with one miner.

Everyone did what Celeste told them and got into a steady rhythm after a few cycles. Soon, there were only a few miners left. Craig was tired and sweating while Doc was still showing no sign of slowing down. Bryan had stopped and instead doing the job of assisting Leon with strapping the miners on to the Keldeo’s back. Craig removed the membrane of one pod and got a Kadabra miner inside. But when Craig touched him, his eyes open up and his lip trembled.

“Oh, don’t.” The Pokémon screamed in terror. “Quiet you dag!” He punched the miner in the face, knocked him out cold. Nevertheless, it was too late, his scream had echoed through every part of the cave. Even Axel and Celeste could hear it.  At the intersection, Catherine was going along side with Rick when the scream was heard.

“Oh shit!” They both exclaimed and ran toward the pods chamber but then they heard a series of explosion at the other pathway.

“That’s my grenade. It must be Axel. He is trying to get the Armaldo on to him.”

“He is gonna die if he does that. We got the help him.” She grabbed Rick’s assault rifle and ran to the right path.

Rick did not say much else but followed Catherine. The path suddenly turn steep and both slid down. “Oh fuckkkkkkkkkkk.” Catherine yelled during the whole drop.

Back in the pod chamber.

“Quick, get the rest out.” Craig put three miners on Leon back and said. “Giddy up.”

“You did not just,”

“Don’t make me slap your bum. Just shut up and move.” Craig said as he carried the Kadabra miner on his shoulder. “Bryan, clear the way. Doc you have to back Axel up. He is going to die down there, mate.” Craig said as he finished tighten another miner on Raiden’s back. They then moved out of the chamber before hearing a rustling sound coming from the holes on the wall.

Catherine and Rick fell down from the slope and dropped to a deeper part of the cave. Catherine got herself inside her teleportation phases and jumped upward. With that, she got a second or two to look at the new area. The place was a gigantic chamber made of rough stone and binary crystals. And it was in absolute chaos. There were thousands of those Armaldo down here. All wiggling and moving, emitting heat and the ear scratching clicks. A large chunk of them was focusing on one point and Axel was at the center of it. He managed to keep them at bay by created a ring of thorn vines around him.  He rail-gunned four or so Armaldo. Created for himself a line out and disappeared. Catherine also saw the big Armaldo that Axel told them about. Its body was large and saying it’s the size of 30 Armaldo was an understatement.  To Catherine, it was a little bigger than that. That thing had a long, multi parts body. Each of those parts still resembled that of an Armaldo. But the head was different. It was longer and the eyes did not stretch out sideway but instead stay attached to the side of the head. And this queen had more than two eyes. Its multi-eyed head was glowing green the same as the membrane on the queen’s forehead. The green glowing plate was planted deep within this membrane. The rest of its body was indeed underground. Catherine could not see all detail of it as she began to mind her landing. Rick engulfed his fist in flame and propelled himself straight down. One Armaldo saw him and raised its claws. And that Armaldo was at the center of Rick’s inferno Nova. It did not have a chance for a second thought before being crushed from head to torso by Rick’s weight. Its carcass was seared by the fiery explosion that came after the attack. Anticipated the impact of the nova, Catherine teleported upward and covering herself in her Barrier move. The purple glass shattered under the fire nova, but it had softened up the blow for her. Rick’s Inferno nova expanded in a quick and violent burst. It blew a dozen or more Armaldo around the area away. That gave him and Catherine a relatively large clear area to work with.

Catherine landed softly on her feet and immediately fired the armor-piercing assault rifle. She gently put pressure on the trigger and five rounds were instantly launched out the barrel in a quick burst of sound. The barrel shot up, telling Catherine to release the pressure. The armor piercing rounds seemingly teleported through the air and appeared as smoking holes and cracks on an Armaldos’ torso and head. The shots entered its body and broke the armor from within, shattered the rock-hard hide like cheap china. With the first Armaldo died by a single trigger pull, Catherine quickly changed to another target. Rick certainly did not exaggerate about this weapon’s firepower. But such power came with a price. The recoil was much more powerful than anything Catherine had experienced from a firearm. The stock was too long for her shoulder, so she did not have anything to deal with the massive kick back. Even if it fit her shoulder, she would twist it just for trying. The whole time, she was gripping the stock with her armpit. And stabilized the gun by engulfing the gun’s stock and barrel with her bright purple psychic glow. Yet, even that was still not enough. It forced her to burst fire the gun instead of held down the trigger. However, since each burst was enough to take off one of them she did not mind at all. Plus, the time between bursts made switching between targets manageable for her. When a large amount of those Armaldo corpses had piled up enough to act of a barricade, she looked at Rick. His fist was still on the ground.

“Hey, Rick! Are you still with me?”

“Yeah, but not for long, stand away.” He said as the flame beard began to grow.

Catherine stepped aside while kept on firing. She then heard a long, ear-blasting screech from the queen. Commanding more troop to attack.

“Hellraiser” Rick yelled, engulfed his head in flame and charged toward the Armaldo hoard blindly. He summoned the super shotgun and loaded two shells into it. He fired the weapons and cut two Armaldo into pieces with 40 pellets launching from the barrel. The sprayed blood and green body fluid put some color on Rick’s armor. He swung his arm and punched through the armor of an Armaldo in his sight. The Pokémon looked at his fist and shook violently when flame started coming out. That cooked the Pokémon from the inside out. Rick grinned, pulling out the dark, well-burnt entrails before smacked it with his gun. The surrounding Armaldo did not stand still and wait for their fate. They were constantly screaming their name and swinging the twin claws. However, an invisible force came from Rick dual generator denied their murderous intentions. Engulfed his fist in flame he punched the ground, triggered a mini Inferno Nova. That fanned away the Pokémon around him, giving him room to step back. He then jammed a large grenade in the hole of the Armaldo corpse and flung body toward a large crowd of them in front of him. The grenade went off, spreading messy chunk of blue rock hard body along with child a handful of grenades. The mini grenades latched on a few Armaldo and exploded in sequence.

“What are you both doing here?” Axel appeared beside Catherine, in his hand was to an automatic sniper rifle. He took aim at the Armando's head and popped the eyes pair by pair. Blinded them and forced the Pokémon to hurt each other.

“Recusing your ass. What else?” Catherine said before throwing a grenade and activated her Singularity trapping in three Armaldo at the same time.

“You don’t get it. Now we have no choice but to survive.”

“So? I am already here. I want to try a hoard mode, so this might be a good test run.” Catherine let off the handle bar and pushed back the Armaldo with her psychic power. She continued firing and charged up a Focus Blast. When that was ready, she threw it at a far distance. The triggered explosion flung a few Armaldo and rock pieces up.

“This is not a test run. What we have here is probably the hardest extermination mission yet. Did I told you that.’ Axel paused to rail-gunned another line of Armaldo, “this kind of assignment has the highest mortality rate?” 

Rick said, “Start hard, and the rest will be easy.”

“You have no idea what we are in right now, don’t you?”

“Yes. So let’s just kill these fuckers and get today over with.”

“At this rate then there will be no tomorrow.”

Catherine began to feel the burning heat on the grip above the barrel, but her adrenaline rush kept her attention away from it. Seeing Rick was going deeper and deeper into the heart of the chamber, Catherine slowly advancing.

“What are you doing?” Axel grabbed her left shoulder.

“Backing him up, what else?”

“Are you crazy?” Axel commanded a thorn vine to sprout up. Blocking the Armaldo and Catherine’s path.

She turned around. “Sooner or later he is going to get overrun. We got to be there.”

“We barely got enough firepower to control this position. How do you expect us to…”

A salvo of rocket went from above and blasted up those Armaldo that tried to get over the thorn vine. The rocket exploded and lit them up into balls of electricity; deep-fried them from the shell to the inside. At the source of the rockets was Doc slowly descending with his rocket-propelled feet. In his hand was the three barrels rocket launcher. He fired two other salvos at the areas near Axel and Catherine’s flank. As soon as Doc touched to ground, he dropped a few turrets with a various array of weapons. One with double machine guns, one with a rocket launcher and one with a large cannon that fired explosive rounds. Their laser sights locked on the Armaldo around them and fired without warning. Doc pressed a button on his arm and activated barriers on the turrets.

“Seen the situation from above. What is Rick doing in there? It is not ideal to fight these with that kind approach.”

“See.” Axel said before reloading.

“However, couldn’t let him overrun like that. He is going to need cover fire. Maybe after his rage, we can convince him to return to a safer area.”

“See?” Catherine said before launching a Focus Blast in front of her. This one did not aim for the ground but directly at an Armaldo, shredded the Pokémon’s torso in an instant.

The team with the help the turrets was slowly advancing. The barrier provided by them kept the Armaldo busy and the extra guns helped. Every time a barrier in on turret went down, Doc put it back up with a raise of his hand. Doc’s air cannon did not quite kill the Armaldo straight away but the shots propelled and stunned mobs of those Armaldo effortlessly. Giving Axel and Catherine’s Focus Blasts better chance to kill them. They tried to stay as close to Rick as possible. At the same time keeping the claws of Armaldo away from them.

The queen screeched another ear-splitting scream. It had seen Rick going through its troop. He was ferociously punching and shooting his way in. His barrier had dropped a few seconds back, but the claws could not do more than scratching at his armor. The queen’s head reached up. Two long tentacles with claw like tips burst from the ground. One of them whipped down at Rick. The Emboar quickly rolled to the left, dodged the attack. The flesh whip instead crushed the queen’s soldiers in a straight line. The other tentacle came down on him. This time, he blasted it from the base with his shotgun, severed it in a messy cut. The queen shrieked. It then raised and slammed down the first tentacle, which got interrupted by Axel’s railgun shell. Took his chance, Rick reloaded and fired his shotgun. But the tentacle retracted back to the ground just in time. With the queen cleared the path for him, he ran forward. He then reloaded, fired at the queen, rinse and repeat. The shots bounced off the armor on her body. But as he got closer, the pallets spread were smaller and landed better shots at the queen’s head. Some hot pellets finally pinned in the membrane. Yet still had not pierced through and touched the plate inside. More of her minions were closing in on him. Soon they stacked themselves on him and pinned Rick down. The Armaldo bashed their head and clawed at Rick’s armor. He slammed both his fist to the ground. The flame on his head grew bigger.

“IBLIS’S PURGE.” He shouted and a huge pillar of flame flew up from the ground under his feet. It then enlarged in diameter and turned every living Armaldo in a five feet diameter into near ashes. Rick’s rage began to die down with the attack, seen by the decreasing volume in his flame. He got his fists off the ground and continued fired his shotgun at the queen. An Anorith ran and jumped behind him, planning to stab him in the back of his head. Rick put the shotgun’s barrel on his shoulder and filled the Anorith‘s face with a buck shot. The tentacle rose again. This time, it came out right behind him. He could not respond fast enough to that, but Catherine was. She held it by casting her psychic glow around the end of the tentacle. She stopped just in time. A moment before it could touch Rick’s spine. Axel appeared with the device morphed into a large ax and chopped off the tentacle. All with one clean cut. The queen shrieked again. Rick had a look back and saw his team was much closer that he expect. Catherine had cleared an Armaldo-free path to them and him. Around her location were gigantic holes and heap of dead bodies. She had a rip on her sleeve and a blood drew scratch on her arm. Doc and his turret were constantly firing, making the Armaldo form a warped semi-circle around him. Doc commanded his turret to follow him and regroup, closing the gap between them and Rick. The queen was still screaming and mourning over its loss tentacles, giving Axel the chance to speak with Rick. “Get back now. We need to stick together if we want to survive.”

Rick loaded two shells and fire at the Armaldo going for Axel’s back. Axel did the same but with an explosive arrow. “I can get to her. Just when will these things stop being major cockblocks.”

“We don’t need to risk this.” Axel loaded a power cell to his device. “We got the miners, just get back and we’ll fight another day.”

“But, she is so close.”

“We are wasting time, just fall back.”

“Right.” Rick said before he clubbed an Armaldo with his gun. He then slowly stepped back and regrouped. Axel and Catherine continued providing a clear pathway. Later, the four of them were together. They put their back together and fired away.

“Welcome back! Not being sarcastic.” Doc said.

“What now?” Catherine said before pulled off another singularity.’

“Well, it is impossible to go back the way we came at this rate. We are a bit too far in.”

“You said we could get back.” Axel said.

“Of course, just not now. We have backup up there. Once they finish with the miners they will help us clear the way. It’s not optimum but we could station here and fight off these things while waiting for back up, more back up. But since we couldn’t go back the way we came at the moment, I say that’s the only option.” Doc propelled away a line of Armaldo with his air blast gun.

“That’s sound pretty grim.” Rick said.

“We wouldn’t be in this if you guy just leave me here in the first place. I could have found a way out on my own.” Axel said and fired an ice arrow and shielded his eyes from an explosion of ice shards.

“A little appreciation would be nice. And what do want us to do? Ignore the fucking explosion? If anything. If you had given us a head up maybe I would have gone here and tried to rescue your ass.”

“Dude Stop. There’s no time for the blame game. We need to stay alive together, remember?” Rick said.

“I don’t know how long could do this. My weapons have a limited ammo pool. I can’t fight for long.”

“A Suggestion. How about accelerating things? Maybe we could focus on the queen. The plate may be her way of controlling them. Or maybe she did all the work herself. Any which way if she go down the other might stop or at least make them disorganize and easier for us the slip through.”

“So our lives are depending on those “maybe”?” Axel said

“Hate to admit, but yes.”

Rick said,“I told you man. Damn, I was so close too.”

“Yeah, But what about the rest? These fuckers won’t let us do that to their, “queen”.”

“I could give us a minute a two without worrying about them.”

“Well, then fucking do it.” She said after kicking an Anorith away.

Doc summoned a briefcase that opened up and expanded into a transmitter of the source. From the top, it emitted a large orange transparent dome that covered a large area above the team. Doc pulled the lever on the device and the dome kept on expanding until it could not expand no more. He the pressed a button and made the dome completely touched the ground. Completely sealed off the team from the hoard of Armaldo. Yet, the dome was still not big enough to reach the queen. A few Armaldo touch the dome and experienced pain and heat that made them recoiled back.

“Should have touched her. Miscalculation. Unacceptable, but cannot change the past. Now’s our chance. Focus all your attack on her. The power of this device is limited. We got 2 minutes.”

The team immediately took out their best weapon and fired at the queen’s head. Catherine gave the assault rifle a break and put it on the ground. She put her hands together and charge up a Crimson Focus Blast. Axel scored a few rail gunshots on the queen but its head movement was too violent, resulted in missing the plate and went in another part of the membrane or missed the head completely. Rick had switched the shotgun out for two assault rifles to get a better shot at shooting her head. Doc’s turrets had a quite limited range so he assigned them with the task of killing anything in contact with the exterior of the barrier. Meanwhile, he blasted the queen with his ice orb, trying to see if that could slow it down. 45 seconds had passed and the queen received damage all across her head. A few of the queen eyes were either froze and broken by gunfire or just burst open like tomatoes from direct gunfires. The membrane was losing bits and chunks. One could even see a few railgun shell still pinned in it. The armor on its head and neck were cracked and broken under Catherine’s three Crimson Focus Blasts. It was still standing but appeared to be in pain, constantly screamed its name and shrieked. The Armaldos’ body parts were stacked up outside of the barrier, slowing the Armaldo down. Yet the troops were still on the aggressive.

“This doesn’t seem to work. I’m almost out.” Axel said.

“All those attacks and these things are still going.” Catherine said before charging up a Focus Blast.

Rick stopped firing and said. “Okay. I got an idea, a crazy one.”

“Hah, are we always up for those?” Axel said.

Rick summoned a syringe with unknown sustains and jabbed it in his neck. Whatever inside made his heart beat much faster and his adrenaline levels began to go up. Breathed like and angry beast he jumped out of the barrier. He slammed his fist together and looked up.

“The Gate, TWO.” He shouted and an Iblis’s Purge pillar covered him and cleared any possible interfering Armaldo. When the pillar died down, it left Rick with the head fully consumed by bright orange fire. One could only see two extremely bright red dots in where the eyes should be. His arms and even the grieves under his feet were on fire. Some gaps in his armor began to leak out traces of flame as well. He pointed at the queen.

“TODAY WILL BE THE MARK OF YOUR DEMISE!” He screamed in a voice that was not quite him. He then crouched down, the flame under his feet grew and grew until it covered half of his body. Immediately after, he made a leap that achieved extraordinary height. He raised his fist at the queen and let out a battle cry that shook the air around him. The queen extended its head, opened its mouth and gobbled him up.

“Aw shit!”

“Rather unorthodox. Hope that’s a part of the plan. He should come out any moment now. Just like in the movies.”

“Ehh, Doc.”

“Be patient, Axel.”

The team stood silent while the Armaldo kept pounding on the barrier. They waited for 10 seconds or more. With nothing seem to be happening to the queen. Instead, it sprouted another pair of tentacle and slammed the barrier violently. Axel fired rail gunshots at them.

Doc continued, “Oh yes, just movies, they are not in the realm of possibility. Continued firing, everyone. We shall moan his loss later.” Doc launched an ice orb at the tentacles, froze them and allowed Catherine to shatter them with the assault rifle.

“It’s mourn, Doc.” Axel said.

“You are going to pay for that.” Catherine launched a regular Focus Blast at the queen’s head.

“The barrier is nearly down. Start shooting or you are going to join him.” Axel said.

From under the queen belly, an orange spot began to grow and grow. Its surface heated up and suddenly a geyser of fire and brimstone shot out from it. The queen’s head spun and letting a long painful scream out of its mouth. Rick leaped out and faced it.

“YOU WILL FUCKING PAY FOR THAT.” Rick screamed instances after got back on his feet. He summoned the drilled from the underground missions and rolled to the left to avoid possible tentacle attack. He then latched the drill on his right arm. Through a series of twisting a few controls, took apart and assembled a few pieces, the drill became a part of his armor. He armed the drill over the queen’s head and grabbed his hand into a fist. That launched the drill bit up in the air with a long blue core attached to it. The drill flew in an arc and pinned in one of the multi-eyes. Rick moved his thumb and the drill bit began to spin and got deeper in the queen’s head. When he thought the length was enough, he moved his index finger and the drill head opened up, keeping it in the queen skull. He then reeled himself upward by a quick pull of his fist. In two seconds, he was a few feet away from the queen’s head. He struck out his fist and punched the queen. The impact nearly toppled the Pokémon. His fist dug deep into the eye. The queen tried to shake him off but the drill bit was in too deep and his hand and feet were clinging on too tight. He got his fist out and punched the multi-eyes around him. When there was nothing left to punch, he dipped his hand deep in its eyes socket, ripped out anything he could grab and then dug his hand deeper. He did so with her other eyes, and eventually completely filled its head with empty holes.  Brought great suffering to the mutated Armaldo to boot.  

Down at the team. Axel fired a few explosive arrows inside the gaping hole in the queen’s belly and detonated them. That made the queen losing a great amount of blood and weaken her. Catherine contributed by occasionally threw in a Crimson Focus Blast in the hole, enlarged it even bigger and made the queen’s agony the more excruciating. Doc had left the queen to the other members and focusing on his turrets. He was recalling the machine gun one and replace it with one equipped with a Gatling gun. He also replenished ammunition on the other as well. He did all this because when the barrier dropped, these turrets would be the only thing that kept them from being overrun.   

Rick shoved a grenade inside the deepest eye socket he could find. And waited two seconds for it to go off. The grenade blew up, sending a fiery sensation through the giant Armaldo‘s head. After that, the queen’s head started to drop and it was swinging lightly like a drunken state. Rick extended the blue core and started getting himself back on the ground. For good measure, he threw four or five grenades down, clearing any possible Armaldo down there. After the chain explosion cleared his landing, he got a firm stance on the ground and started pulling the core, bringing the queen’s head down. Rick made it look as easy as a man pulling a stubborn corgi that wished to get away from its owner.  

“I AM RICHARD DOUGLAS, YOUR MAKER.” He screamed as he tightened his grip and got her head lower and lower in each pull. The queen desperately trying to get up, but Rick’s strength, brutality, and its weaken body made it hard to make a different.

“Rick that word is not for.” Catherine said but was interrupted by Doc.

“He can’t hear you. Just let him have this.”

Rick stopped when the blue core was on the verge of breaking and the queen head was lowered to his height. Axel saw his chance and took aim. When the plate was in the scope, he shot the rail gun. The shell pierced through the membrane and hit the plate by the edge, wedged the plate out. Catherine took the assault rifle off the ground and fired a long burst, scrapping away the membrane. Axel shot another shell on the edge of the plate and levered the plate out. Catherine immediately covered it with her psychic glow and pulled it to her hand. Rick summoned his six barrels missile launcher and took out the queen’s head with a relentless barrage of fire missiles. The fire cooked the head, burnt and shrunk it. After a few seconds, the burning the head crashed into the ground. The drill head was retracted before Rick fell on his knees. The flame on his head and beard shrunk dramatically. He was about to fall until Catherine lifted his side up. She teleported beside him and fired at the Armaldo around him. Levitated above her back was the plate. She looked at him and asked. “Can you stand?”

“Yeah, I still.” He summoned a syringe with a red liquid. But his hand were too tired to pick it up. Catherine helped him with her psychic hold and injected Rick with it.

Rick was then brought back to his feet. “Thanks, I need that.”

“No time for sentimental shit, we gotta haul ass.”

With Catherine’s assistance and everyone else’s cover fire, Rick successfully limped back to the large barrier.

The queen may have died, but the other were still on the aggressive. If not more so than ever. Some of them climbed on the corpses of their fallen allies and slammed into the barrier. Doc blew some of them away from the barrier with the last energy cells of his air blast cannon.

“Why are they still going apeshit at us?” Catherine said before the assault rifle let out the dreaded click. She deconstructed it and got her miner cutter. After lifting Rick’s assault rifle for a few minutes, this miner cutter felt much lighter. She put her finger on the button and pressed it, firing a steady stream of the red laser from the barrel. The beam effortlessly punched through the armor. But the cut are too clean and small, making it took quite a while to get some Armaldo down.  

“Well, we just killed their queen might be a factor.” Doc said.

“Or it’s night time.”

Rick summoned the two assault rifles. “I say both.”

The barrier overhead began to retract. The barrier’s wall was growing thinner and thinner

“Oh shit!”

Axel sighed and said. “Blaze of glory?”

“Yeah, blaze of glory.” Rick said.

“The fuck?”

“Everyone hit them with everything you got.” Doc shouted before throwing all the turrets that he had on the ground. For greater effect, he fabricated three flying drones. Each of those armed with missiles strikes and energy blasts. Axel’s touched the ground and summoned a long thick thorn wine and slammed it down at all the Armaldo in front of him, giving him some space to breathe and come up with a new plan. He looked at his ammo reserves. He was running dangerously low. Catherine slammed her hands together, making a bright purple glow appeared around her feet. “Angel lift” She separated her hands and the glow expanded. She then lifted her hands and every Armaldo that set their large feet on the glow was instantly elevated and drifted hopelessly in the air. She then picked them apart with the miner cutter.

“Holy crap, how did you do that?”

“That’s pretty much my last trick. Don’t waste it!” She said as the Armaldo began to come down on the ground. Rick and Doc’s turrets put out a hail of leads; decimated the hopeless Almaldo. When Catherine’s Angel Lift lost its effect, butchers, or incinerated Armaldo carcasses rained down around them. Rick’s assault rifle started clicking and the other was getting lighter. He deconstructed both of his current weapons and got himself the explosive spike shotgun and another assault rifle; this one fired a slow-moving explosive round. The slow moving projectile did not hinder the weapon performance much as these Armaldo were so close to him. The canister behind Catherine’s miner cutter reached critical heat and stopped the gun from firing. Rick tossed her his assault rifle and told her to take it. In Rick’s free hand was then the super shotgun. This time, his method reloading it was directly fabricated the shells inside the chamber after firing. It reloaded much slower than usual but it got him fire weapons with both hands, mowing down the Armaldo more efficiently overall. Rick continued firing both his gun. When they were too close for his comfort, he coughed up a flamethrower to accompany the shotguns’ fire. Doc switched his air blast cannon for a gun with a tesla coil. This one was much different from Rick’s as it shot a steady stream of lightning that seemed to chain from enemies to enemies. For all the Armaldo were so close together, the chain lightning struck the brain of at least a dozen of them before disappearing. He deployed two extra flying machines.  They looked like miniature fighter jets and started rained down the area with machine guns fire. Axel depleted his automatic sniper and railgun. Left with no choice, he manifested his device into a 13-foot long sword. He slammed a power cell to the back. A plasma stream began flowing along the edge. When the blade turned white, he leaped forward and sliced two rows of Armaldo with one swipe, severed them in half. He ran forward and got two more swipes before the power core ran out.

After a minute or so, the bodies had created an unstable wall around them. Saw that they were about to fall on the team. Catherine stopped firing and launched a Focus Blast at the wall, pushing it away from them. A part of it collapse, letting a swarm of Armaldo went through. Catherine started to pant and sweating but still kept on firing and launching Focus Blasts in between shots. Rick appeared to be fighting strong. He had just replaced the two shotguns for a Gatling gun, his last resort weapon. The weapon cut through the Armaldos’ heads and armors like a lawn mower. Doc was still in control of his machines. The power core within himself could help him fighting as long or even longer than Rick, but the ammo situation didn’t look to well for him. As he was now forced to use his submachine gun and elemental orbs for these creatures. He had modified his orb into a freezing wave, similar to Leon Icy Wind but much wider. That attack flash froze the enemies but not as effective as he hoped it would be. Axel seemed to have the worst of it. He was afraid the Armaldo on his side would punch through his line of defense and overrun the team. He had run out of ammo except for the only thing in his hand, the rocket launcher. His blade proven to be ineffective and he had run out of plasma cells. He fired the rest of his rockets. A good hit of it could blow up one whole, but the splash damage is not strong enough to kill multiple Armaldo. Rick sometimes helped him by cutting a few of them from time to time. Axel was about to give up and tried a large Absolute Barrier to hold them off and then pass out. He worried about his team, but the situation did not offer many options. However, he was stopped by the shattering sound of an ice grenade tossed from above.

That was none other than Celeste’s. She was up at the hole led to the exit. She waved and yelled, but the sounds and clicks from the Armaldo just drowned her out. She fired a grenade directly downward. The grenade stuck to an Armaldo and went off in a rather small explosion. But the heart of it, white foam began to form around the Pokémon. And soon it expanded and swallowed the Pokémon completely. The foam then hardened into a gel-like substance and suffocated the Armaldo. She fired a few fire grenades at the area around the foam, repelling the other Armaldo. Then she jumped and land softly on the gel pad, like a big pile of bubble gum. She got off from it and loaded a grenade in. She looked for Axel and the teams’ general area and took aim. She shot a rocket-propelled grenade that ran in a straight line. The grenade set off four or more explosions along its path, giving her way clear path to the team. Leon with Bryan on his back was seen leaping down and landed on the gel shortly after. Leon stomped his hoofs on the rock hard ground and spun his Gatling guns. He bit down a switch in his mouth to fire his Gatling gun. The bullets combusted while traveling and penetrated everything in Leon line of sight. Bryan activated the visor and jumped off Leon’s back. He then curved up into a ball and began to spin, ground the rock underneath into dust. Spinning at his max speed, he set himself off and flew to the Armaldo by Celeste left flank. He cut through their guts, like a cannon ball going through rows of plywood.

Celeste approached the team and dropped a small box like device on the ground under their feet. The device folded itself and fabricated large boxes around it. The boxes opened up and revealed all kind of ammunition inside.

“Sorry for coming too late. Traffics. You guys load up and we’ll help you get back to Leon. There will be a great point to hold out and exterminate these.” She then took the place of each member, who took turn reloading their weapons.

“What happen to the miners? Aren’t you suppose to take care of them?” Axel asked while filling up his sniper rifles.

“Worry not, Lazarus is on it, so I can help you guys.”

Axel said, “Lazarus, so that’s mean.”

“Yes, we contacted Genesis for more back up. His team will be helping us shortly.”

Rick said, “Sounds good. More guns mean higher chance of surviving.”

When everything is set and loaded, they slowly walked back with Celeste instructions. Craig giving them some form of covering fire with his harpoon gun from above. A thundering cry came out from the hole and an Electivire jumped beside Craig and got in the middle of the chamber. He raised his humongous sword in midair and the saw blade edge slammed down when he landed. The impact shook the cave and created a thunder from the biggest storm. The Armaldo slowly backed away from him. The Electivire took his blade from the ground and slashed the closest thing to him. The sword did not slice but rather crushed it into chunks of rock and red meat. The thick sword made sure each cut was painful and unforgiving. He charged up electricity into the blade and got the strikes out faster. He lunged forward, dashed, slashed and decapitated everything he saw in a blood rage. Screaming and yelling in the process. The blood of the Armaldo got in his eyes and blurred his vision. But that just made his strikes more ferocious and drove him into a frenzy.

A Lopunngy descended near Leon. She was wearing the same battle armor as the one in the assignment center but now had a helmet that just let her ears exposed. On her back was the blind Sableye with a flak jacket with a ton of grenade and explosives that could possibly strap on it. The Lopunny summoned two brass knuckles that covered her hands and started running to the team. She was punching and kicking any Armaldo in her way. The brass knuckles and the armor on her feet helped her bypass armored hide with ease and punctured the organs.

The blind Sableye took a large grenade and strapped four smaller grenades on it. He set up the timer and asked Leon to fire it a far with a Hydro Pump. Leon obliged and opened his mouth. A powerful jet of water launched the grenade in an Armaldo dense area. The grenade went off and fired bullets from the hearts of the explosion, along with the four grenades. The four grenades then fired bullets of their own before going off. That one grenade alone got rid of the Armaldo in a wide area within seconds. ‘You all have been killed by the explode master.’ The Sableye said with a wide grin. He tossed out a grenade that went up on the rocket and showering down mini-explosions from above.

With the Armaldo cleared out, Celeste told everyone to make a run through the temporally clear field. Catherine and her team finally made it back to Leon. Bryan also went back by Celeste’s instructions. And he then contributes with his pistol. The Lopunny stopped the hand to hand combat and switch out for a submachine gun. She did a few acrobatic flips to regroup with everyone. While everyone was fusing their gun, The Electivire was still in the middle of the hoard and still swinging his blood drenched blade like mad.

They stationed in that one corner and began the process of extermination. Craig occasionally dropped boxes of ammunition from above, ensuring the longevity of this fight. They kept that up for more than half an hour. The Armaldo’s number diminished and soon found themselves retracted back into the other chamber in the cave, leaving the group with piles upon piles of corpses. Catherine suggested pursuit but Doc and other said it was not a priority.

When all the violent were over, everything went quiet. They started climbing up and got out of the mine. Everyone then gathered in the landing pad. It was at nearly 8 PM and the lights planted around the landing site were activated. That allowed five Kilian planes and a few Genesis employees to operate effectively.

Catherine was sitting on the edge of the landing pad. Her arms were let loose for they were soring and exhausted. The hand that held the barrel of Rick assault rifle was burned slightly. It appeared to sting from time to time but was nothing to cry about. Catherine looked back at the miners. Some were covered in bandages but still be able to walk to the planes. A few were still lying motionless on stretchers. A Delphox wearing light combat armor with a gigantic green cross painted on his back slowly walked to them. He inserted a needle connected to a device on his arm directly to one miner’s head and said. “Come” He pushed a button on the device and transferred something to the miner’s head. The miner’s body shook violently then the Pokémon woke up while panting hard. The Delphox patted him on the back, calming him and told him to lie down and rest.

The miners were then instructed to step on the plane and returned to the delta base. They were priorities so Catherine and everyone else had to wait. All the other agents were making idle chats in a pair with the exception of the Electivire, who was sitting in silent and cleaned his sword. Axel and Doc were discussing the outcomes of the situation; Celeste was encouraging and rewarded Bryan with a piece of sweet; Leon was talking to Craig about the miner that he punched. And the Lopunny bombard the Sableye with complaints that best not to know. Catherine then saw Rick coming to her and turned her head back. He sat beside her and said.

“Quite a day huh?”

“Yup. It’s not every day you can just go in a cave chalk full of ancient monsters and kick their asses.’ She summoned Rick’s assault rifle and laid it on her thighs. She then lazily gave it back to him. ‘See, I keep my promise.”

The Emboar took the gun. “I know you would. And thank you for backing me up down there.”

“That’s what we do right? You do the same for me and I did so for you.”

“Right.” He paused. “I have been thinking. About what we have been talking about.”

She sighed. “That again.”

“I know, I know, it’s annoying. Doc gave me the same talks when I first join in. And it’s pissing me off to hear that all the time, I won’t lie, it did. But after a while, I know he was just doing the best for everyone here at Genesis.”

“Yes, I got it. It’s reasonable. I won’t deny that.” Catherine kept looking down.

“But knowing that still pissing me off. He acts as if he knows all but he had no friggin idea. Even the therapists are full of shit. They don’t understand what it’s like having something that made everything around you turn to ash in two whole seconds. They don't know how hard to keep something like that from harming the Pokémon around you. How hard to maintain control.”

“But you are still an agent. You found a way, right?”

“I did. But I have to deal with it by myself. And it ain’t a god damn walk in the park, I tell you that. Genesis nearly has me put down at one point. After that, it took me nearly five years to get things together. Sorry for taking you down the memory lane but what I want to say. You are not alone in this. You don’t have to deal with whatever is inside you, on your own. God that sounds weird but roll with it. If you find yourself struggling in taming that beast, just ask me, I might know a trick or two to help you, been there done that and all. And yeah, I don’t care if you trust me or not, I trust you on this. Hell, I’ll willing to help, aren’t I?”

“Wow, isn’t it would be better if you had told me this before. So much clearer and less, preachy.”

“Yeah, haven’t thought of that one in there. The nostalgia feeling when I got my ass handed to me by that bandit and the mission just overshadow the thoughts my head. It like a giant brain fart. Now, it’s much clearer when everything is done.”

“Okay, this is getting sappy so let’s just end it here.”

“Of course, but you got to work for it.”

“What now, Rick?”

He showed her his fist. “Just punch it, I know it’s strange but do it. It’s like a commitment. Once you punch it, it’s mean I trust you and the same for you. And I’ll promise to never bring this conversation up ever again. Unless when you want to. Deal?”

“Deal” she punched his fist with her left.

“Man, you really need to do some workout. How can you carry heavy weapons with that sissy arm?”

“I’m gonna smack you in the face and see if you can still say that.” She said as both retracted their fists.

“Go ahead.”

She reached out her fist and struck Rick in the face. However, he was unfazed by the blow.’

“Haha, you are going to need that workout, my friend.”

Catherine made a face and crossed her arm. “My fist was tired. Too much shit happened today.”

“Yeah, right. So looking back. Do you regret agreeing on the extermination assignments yet? I swear they are not as tough, though.”

“Nah, we can still do that. Weekends and shit, right?”

“Might be a good excuse for outdoor barbecues.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

Axel and Doc stopped their conversation and looked at Catherine and Rick.

“Those two sure are friendly today.” Axel said.

“Would you want them to fight and tear each other apart with knives?”

“No, just observing.”

“Yes. Well, personally, I think it’s great. Letting Rick deals with another version of him. Much easier for us.”

“That was just a figure of speech. She is nothing like Rick.”

“Quite the contrary, she bares a lot of resemblance to Rick when I first met him. Quite a ticking time bomb he was. But now, look at him. So calm and what is the word? “Refrigerated”? Oh, chill. He is that one Pokémon who love to share a drink with you. And still can get his blood rage to work for us. I believe with his experiences, he could help her adapt to our environment easier and faster. It’s better for everyone, especially for her.”

“I can see that.”

Back at the edge. Rick stood up. “So Catherine, ready to leave?”

“Yup, give me a sec to catch my breath and I’ll join you.” Catherine said before saluted him.

She looked at Rick walking to Axel and Doc. He talked something to them for a good long while. She thought back to the talk with Rick. It certainly put her at ease but she was still concern about something. _“He claimed that thing was his master and I should be fearful.”_ The voice in her head was still silent. That little moment of talking back to it must have a much larger impact than Catherine expected. She wondered how long that impact would last.

Rick, Doc, and Axel turned to her. Rick said, “Hey, Catherine. What takes you so long? The guys agreed. We’re gonna celebrate by emptying Gwen’s bar tonight, drinks on me. You want in?”

“Sure.” She stood up and grinned. “Why the fuck not?”

In a deep dark, underground tunnel, there laid a throne made from rusted pipes, spikes, and gears. Sitting comfortably on it was a mega Alakazam with pale yellow skin and holes in his face. He wore identical clothing to the double that did his dirty works. Except for a few things, in his hand was a large scepter, which held three crystal balls and there was a crown on his head. The mega stone was stamped in the middle of the crown. However, the Mind plate was still in the same place, linked on his back. Beside his throne are four pods. Two were empty and two have bodies of Alakazam. The King had a visitor that day. An all too familiar face to him. His visitor remained silent for a rather long time, waiting to hear the King’s excuse to meet him. “You, you’ve never said anything thing, about the monsters.”

“Well, I did say that there will be challenges along the way. And advised you to be extra careful.”

“I lost a lot of my Pokémon and got nothing.”

“It is your own fault for not supervising the expedition yourself. If you aren’t such a cowards.”

“I AM NOT A COWARD!!!” The King yelled.

“I’m in no position to judge, but explain to me. Why didn’t you do it yourself, again? If you are such an “honorable” king then why don’t you personally oversee everything? Especially during an important task like this. Maybe things will be much different. Why have so little confidence in your power? I have given you so much and you are still afraid.”

“Look who is talking. You are no better than me. You ask me to do the search and everything for you. Why don’t you just do it yourself?”

“Hehehe. Hahahhaha. Oh. Don’t be silly, your highness.”

“What, what are you trying to say?”

“I have something clever, but I’m afraid the sarcasm would surpass you. I’m not a coward nor am I a brave soul. I’m just a Pokémon who knows a lot. I am a Pokémon who provided knowledge and suggestions to you, free of charge. Without my words, you would have been dead for a while now. And I wish nothing more but to help you. The end goal of all the searches is simply come down to giving you more power. But, if you don’t want me to, then I could stop. If anything, I will disappear right now and you will never see me again.”

“Wait, no!”

“If so, then please, spare me the bitterness of your words.”

The King sighed. “Fine, I’ll gather up some Pokémon and we will claim the plate later.”

“I’m afraid it is too late for that.”

“They have obtained it?”

“Yes. I think it would be better off for you to complete the tasks I have suggested to you first. In the meantime, tell your knights to help you gather up more, followers. You are running short.”

“I’ll get it done. But one thing, I must ask. Can you get me another body?”

“No, these are only one I know of, and I know more than you could ever know. If you are afraid, I suggest staying here, rest and gather up strength. Those are just simple suggestions, follow them or not, is up to you. And farewell, your highness.”

“Where are you going?”

“I go whenever I have the urge. And where do I know simply does not concern you.”

The King then watched his visitor walked to the door and whispered something under his breath.

* * *

 

Author's notes:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is my first ever story so please forgive any possible mistake in the future and help me fix them.

Thanks again and have a pleasant day.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. They belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. The songs I reference here belong to their respective artists as well. With that out of the way, please enjoy this piece of fanfiction.

* * *

 

Friday night, outside of the Revenant bar

Catherine and Axel were sitting on the balcony handlebar, both got Rick and Doc stood in between. From that distance, they looked into the windows on the bar’s wall. One of those windows showed the Lopunny agent. She was yelling and pointing at a Pokémon, whose image were blocked by the rock wall. Anger and utter disgust were shown on her face. Through the other window, they could see Gwendolyn rubbing her forehead while leaning to the bar. She looked annoyed and exhausted. A few Pokémon could be seen leaving the bar. Each time the door was opened, verbal venom leaked out.

“What the hell is her problem? Fucking out of nowhere.”

“That’s Tammy for ya. It is best not to talk to her.” Rick said and took a sip from the can of beer in his hand.

“Why?”

“Believe me, she will drive you nuts. She is what we call a backpack activist. She tells everybody to do something for “the good cause” and “justice”. Instead of you know, actually doing anything about the damn cause. Which is okay, raise awareness and what not, but with that kind of tone?” Rick pointed at the window that showed the Lopunny, screaming. “No thank you. After hearing her speech about the rain forests, I just feel like smoking three endangered species just to even it out.”

“That’s fucking disgusting. Who would want to smoke, burning flesh?”

“That’s a figure of speech, but a few bandits would. Really eff’ed up bandits would.”

“That’s a pretty harsh claim, Rick. I’m sure she means well but, a bit misguided.” Axel said.

Doc jumped in. “That’s debatable. Mercy said she most likely does not do those from the kindness of her heart but rather a mean to prove her superiority over others. Her current actions certainly support that.” He shook his head. “I blame the Essal Information Network, so much unfiltered junk data floating around.”

“I got no comment since I still don’t understand what the fuck is going on.”

Doc said, “That could be a good thing. You should keep it that way. Holding too much useless information may make it hard for you to hold on to your sanity.”

“That’s probably the right call.”

The four Pokémon then went silent while waiting for the fighting from inside the bar to end.

“Why you guys got quiet all the sudden?” Catherine said.

“I got nothing to talk about,” Rick answered.

“Have a lot of random thoughts. But not that interesting to you. Do you like the idea of multicore transfusion? No? As expected.”

Axel said, “I need some more alcohol to even get me to talk about random things.”

That moment, the blind Sableye agent passed by.

“Hey, how it going, Master Sploder?” Rick greeted him.

He turned his head to the team, smiled and said. “I’m good. But why aren’t you guy inside? The bar’s over there.”

“Dude have a look for yourself.” Rick pointed but soon realized that the Sableye was blind. “Oh crap, sorry Ray.”

“Hahaha, that was a good one. Pokémon forgets that I’m blind sometimes. No harm was done. So what is going on?”

“Tammy has been in a pretty fierce argument with Boomer in the bar. Maybe you should do something about that. It has been over twenty minutes. I think she is about to use her fists.”

“Aw damn it, not again.”

The Sableye then ran straight in the bar and attempted to solve the dispute. His present made things inside went quiet for a little while. But the noises returned and grew in volume.

“Well, at least he tried.”

“Aw shit! Are we really gonna spend this night doing this? Gossip while looking at that? What else do you guys do around here?”

Rick chugged his drink and said. “Together, just drinking or watch TV. Alone, we got tons. Video games, the combat sim, that dinky little rip off machine in the center, and the park.”

“Come to think about it, the future fucking sucks.”

Axel looked at his watch. “Seven o’clock, I guess we could just go back and do what we normally do. Have an early rest.”

“Dude, it’s Friday. A few years back I would kill to get a day of doing nothing like this. Not gonna waste it.”

“Well, how about a different activity? A game night maybe?” Doc said.

“A game night huh? You mean like Poker?” Axel said.

“Yes, of course. I got a deck right in my inventory. Do you all know how to play?”

“A bit rusty but yeah.” Rick scratched the back of his head.

Catherine said, “You will be surprised, but yes.”

“I think I have read the rules from somewhere,” Axel said before got off the handle bar. “Just get back to the base before stuff being thrown out of the window.”

That moment, a table was thrown out the bar window, shattered it completely. The glass pieces on the ground let out a blue glow and slowly disappeared.

“Too soon, man. Too soon.” Rick said.

Doc rubbed his chin. “She must be running low on arguments.”

(The song "Do the evolution" by Pearl Jam begins to play)

Chesterization proudly presents.

A Pokémon fanfiction

** Genesis **

(Song ends)

**Chapter 10: Game night**

The team returned to their living quarters and found Mercy in the main room. She appeared to be maintaining some small medical equipment. Saw them opened the door, she asked. “Back so soon, everyone?”

“There were some problems at the bar,” Doc said.

“I see.” She then deconstructed the equipment with the digital fabricator in her neckless.

“Pardon, my curiosity. Why don’t you do that in the medical room?”

“It’s being purged at the moment, these equipment are very sensitive to the laser so I have to do the maintenance by hand.”

“I see, but you should take a break, it’s Friday.”

“Thank you for your concern. I’ll take it into consideration. So, since the bar is out, how you all going to spend the night?”

“Worry not, we got it figured out. A game night. Poker. My suggestion. A pretty common thing to do.” Doc said.

“Indeed.”

“You want to join us?” Catherine said.

“No dear, I’m not into gambling. You all can enjoy it without me.”

“I thought the official rules require at least five players?” Axel said.

Catherine said, “Just consider one got busted out early and move on.”

“I’ll settle for that,” Rick said and opened the door to his quarter.

“So, does anyone fancy some snack? Something sweet to lift up the mood and lower the salt in the air afterward. I know how these types of game go.”

“Thanks, Mercy.” Everyone said.

“It’s my pleasure.” She then entered the kitchen section.

Catherine approached her and said. “Need a hand or anything, Mercy?”

“No, I’m fine dear. Just taking things out of the containers and mixing them. Not that hard.”

“Really, cause I don’t want to made you feel like a, a, a, ah shit how do I put it?”

“A maid?”

“I was thinking butler.”

“Just consider me like a mother who takes care of her family without demanding much in return. I consider you all to be second the family I’ve ever had, after all.”

“Oh.” Catherine suddenly felt something struck her heart.

“But, mothers are living beings too, so please don’t take her for granted. And yes, you should give her a hand or lend her an ear once in every while. Just not right now, though.”

“I sure will. Whenever you need me, just ask.”

“Will do and thank you, dear.”

Catherine turned around and saw everybody except for Doc had gone to their respected quarters, prompting her to do the same. Doc walked to the “living room” section and accessed a panel hidden in the wall behind the TV. After a few button presses, in an empty part of the room, a fabricator was lifted up from the floor. The device projected an image of a round table with four black cushioned chairs in the air. When the table set was fully fabricated, he gently closed off the panel and found himself a seat. He picked the one chair with its back turned on the TV. Doc then summoned an old ammo box, which was coated with a thick layer of orange rust. He laid the box on his metallic leg and opened it. The inside of the box was filled with sheets of red velvet, wrapping around something. He unwrapped it layer by layer and found a medal put in a sturdy glass case. Laid beside it was an old deck of card with stylized symbols and icons. Each of the cards was not printed but rather hand drawn. From the numbers to the smallest of details, all were drawn by brush and protected by a thin layer of transparent paint. The paper was yellow with age but didn’t have any scent of mold. Yet, the edges were still sharp enough to give one Pokémon a paper cut. He then locked his eyes on the cards and the medal, before slowly let out a sigh. As if acknowledged a failed attempt to remember something important.

Catherine stepped out of her quarter. Her coat had gone, leaving her with the jean and the Foundation tank top. She popped her knuckles as she walked to the newly fabricated table.

“Nice, didn’t know you guys have more furniture around here.”

“Of course, this quarter have it all. We tend to keep things like this away to avoid dust accumulation. There is even a stationary bike if you want to exercise. You could definitely use it.”

“Mind your own fucking self, old man.”

“Catherine, don’t take my previous statement too personal. I know it’s the apocalypse, but we are living under a steady roof with weather control, so it wouldn’t hurt to enjoy the day and take things easy.”

“One thing at a time. Consider the coat the first step.”

“If that’s how you do things, then okay. Have a seat then.”

Rick stepped out. He had changed into the football shirt and kept his jeans. Seeing Catherine, the first thing he said was. “What happened to your coat?”

“I don’t any of bitching about me hiding cards in my sleeves.”

“Make sense; don’t wanna see an extra ace come up on the table.”

“You shouldn’t worry about that, this deck is like nothing available in the store.”

“Oh really? Whatever, it was kinda hot anyway.”

They both grabbed seats in Doc’s left and right. Rick had to spend a few extra seconds to adjust the size of the chair. He did so by a few buttons lay beside the armrest. A few press and the structure of the chair itself changed and fitted Rick perfectly, then did he sit down. He then leaned back and stared at the ceiling, waiting. Axel got out with just a plain white t-shirt, a locker was hanging around his neck. Parts of it were hidden under the shirt.  Rick’s eyes instantly left the ceiling. “C’mon man, let get this thing started and over with.”

“Take it easy. What happened to your lay back attitude?” He said before grabbing the last seat.

Doc fabricated a device and placed it in the middle of the table. It the projected four screens for each of them to see. Every screen had a blank space and the credits icon below it. Doc told everyone to place their credit card near the screen for scanning. They did so and their name appeared in the blank space. A robot voice speaks up. “Insert credit.”

“So, how much for the buy-in?” Doc asked.

“I don’t know man, just play for fun. I say a 1000 buy-in is enough.”

“What is the fun in that? Get something with more weight.” Catherine said.

“I agree. I say 10000 credits.” Axel said before adjusting his tail on the seat.

“I think we should double that, for dramatic effect,” Doc said.

“20000?” Rick said.

“Congratulation, Rick. You have passed second-grade math. So, is everyone in?”

“Yeah, let’s do it!” Catherine said.

“Hold your enthusiasm, Catherine. It is Poker, not the Olympics.” Axel said and dragged the chair forward, closer to the table.

“Oh god,” Rick said and sat straight up. “No regret, then.”

“So 20000 credits, it is,” Doc announced and programmed the machine. An amount of chips with different values were then fabricated in front each of them. When everyone was ready. Doc pulled the deck of cards out of the bullet box. It certainly caught everyone attention. “This is my only deck of card. Be careful with it.”

“Dude, that thing look like an antique.”

“By all definitions, it is or they are.”

“How long have you been keeping them?”

“70 years, should be more or less.”

“Shit, they are even older than me.”

“Yes, so please, treat them with respect.”

Doc put the card inside the device and it began to shuffle the cards from within.

“So, let start on a 400 and 800 credits blind. Any objection? No? Good.”

The device accessed Catherine and Doc’s sums and put in 400 and 800 blind respectively. Another hologram screen displayed the pot money appeared on top of the device. Doc cleared his throat and said. “Let the game begins.”

The device then shot out two cards for each Pokémon. They lifted the card up and had a quick peek. All left the cards there and started to concentrate on the each other faces.

“You are the last to show up, so kick starts this thing,” Catherine told Axel.

“Okay. I’ll call.” Axel put in 800 credits.

“Call,” Catherine said.

“Same,” Doc said and threw the chips in.

Rick started to take in short breaths “Okay, eh, oh crap, let me see.”

“Rick, you got to calm down,” Axel said.

“I know. It’s just. This kind of things really stresses me out, man.”

“You have a criminal past. Aren’t you supposed to know your way around the cards?” Doc said.

“What?” Catherine said.

“Oh, you don’t know that yet. Rick will tell you someday.”

“I know that, man. But back then, losing money mean losing food on the table. And I can’t punch my way out of that kind of deal. That’s the hard part.”

“If it bothering you then you should rest and leave it to us,” Axel said before checking on his cards again.

“No, don’t let me stop your fun. I’m okay with losing now. But still, it’s like an instinct or something.”

‘Just don’t panic. And trust me, I not that great with the cards. The only time when the rules were made aware to me was when I received them, which dated back sometimes, 70 years ago. I’m too busy with work and a lot of other things like building machines.”

“Yeah, and just relax and enjoy it. It’s just a game of managing your stuff. Along with do whatever you can to keep calm and not get mind fucked. And it’s only like 20000 credits, not that bad if you fucked it up. God, when did I become such a jackass?”

Axel said, “Like Catherine said, just be cool and fake it, take a few chances and you might make it. But you know act like that and you will definitely get wiped out pretty soon.”

“Fine, I’ll check.”

The device then passed more cards to them. All looked at the cards. And laid them down.

“Fold,” Axel said.

“Let’s all be friends.” Catherine looked around and laid down a 1000 credit bet.

“Fold,” Doc said.

“I fold,” Rick said, his forehead was still sweating.

The numbers on the screens changed. With more credit poured into Catherine’s sum. “Thanks for the scratch guys,” Catherine said then grabbed the chips on the table. All returned the cards to the machine and started the next round. All of them repeated the same card checking process. Axel put in more chips while staring at Catherine’s face.

“What the fuck are you looking at?” Catherine raised in her turn.

“Just trying to see what you are planning.”

“Well, knock it off, you are creeping me the fuck out.” The machine shot more cards to them.

Axel raised. “Here take some. I dare you.”

Catherine said, “Pff, course I will. Double that even.”

Rick said, “I’ll let you two sort this out on your own. I’ll out.”

“Check.”

They got more cards and then started to check them. “Ah, darn it.” said Axel at the result, “Fold.”

‘Alright.’ She snapped her finger and used Psychic to grab the chips. “Thank you for the offer, Axel.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Looked at Rick anxious face, she said. “And cmon Rick, just get a fucking grip. Don’t let this intimidate you.”

“I know.”

The machine then started the next round. After a few seconds, Doc said. “It’s rather intriguing.” Before he put more chips in.

“What is intriguing?” Axel responded.

“Each of us is in no position to know how to play this game. Maybe except for Rick. But I just find it strange. Catherine, for example, is a Celestian. And Axel, you seem to be training all the time, and yet you still know how to play. For me, I am an engineer and mercenary who somehow got this deck of card in my inventory and the rules in my memory bank. I’m just curious about how did we learn to play? When did all of this, begin?” Doc then raised his mechanical index finger. “Oh, yes. I have an idea. I say, to lower the stress level for Rick and encourage some bonding between us, for I know for sure someone will be bitter about this in the end. Let’s trade stories about what forces on Essal made Pokémon like us know how to play this game?”

“That’s strange request Doc,” Axel said.

“Curious or is there some kind of scheme?” Catherine said before put her hand on her own cards.

“Oh no, I would never do that. You have read in too deep Catherine. I simply just wanted to have something to talk about. Something to make the evening more lively and like I said, bonding experience.”

“That sounds like a great idea, but I’m not quite sure about that Doc,” Axel said.

“Really? Bonding, or evaluating our levels? Knowing how we got started and then use that to your advantage?”

“Catherine, it doesn’t matter how or when you begin. The level of skill is built over the time you spent practicing. We are not friggin Arceus, so I doubt knowing how we started can actually affect anything.”

“That’s a rational way to look at it, Rick,” Axel said. “And Catherine, are you pulling some kind reverse psychology on us? Are you the one with the plan and this is just your way to confuse us all. Use Doc’s request as a mean to cast the seed of doubt, causing confusion and use it to your advantage?”

“Okay, now you are the one that read in too deep into this shit.”

“I don’t know. No one was wondering such things except for you. What if the whole things were, in fact, your own elaborate scheme? Are you the one with the plan?” Axel leered at her.

“Pf, no, how can I do that? I’m from Celestial, remember?”

“”Were”, you said that, remember? If so, then why don’t you start Catherine? You came up with this whole conspiracy, so you should knock the suspicion off of yourself first.” Axel said. “What do you got to hide?”

“Why me? Didn’t Doc the one who started this? God. Just get the fuck off my back already, you are ruining my mood.” Catherine said before looking at her two new cards. Feeling the eyes were on her, she laid down the cards. “Okay, okay. I’ll tell. Fuck, I thought game night supposed to be fun not a god damn interrogation.”

“See this is why this game stresses me out. It always gives trust issues to everyone involve.” Rick said.

“Fine, let’s see. Start with the time I learn how to play, huh? Okay. Uh, totally irrelevant question to get into the topic. Do you know why I swear so god damn much?”

“Yeah, that got me scratching my head for the longest time. You came from a place that is famous for the squeaky clean manner and a golden chopstick to the butt uptight. Then why are you so? I don’t know, acting so much like me.” Rick said.

Axel laid his bet then said. ‘Her uncle is a merchant, he travels to the Outland regularly. So she always has to protect him from bandits during his trades. Resulted in meeting a lot of others traders and sometimes smugglers. She got infected by their behaviors.”

“Yup, pretty much it. And the Catherine you see today is the snowball of one single day. And that day was the same day I learned or at least know about a game call Poker.”

“Wow, over dramatic much,” Axel said.

“Oh, let me say. I don’t fucking know. Eh, my uncle taught me about the game about 6 years ago. Yeah, that’s interesting.”

“That’s true. Even if she fabricate it, over dramatic things might make it more entertaining and worthwhile to hear.” Doc commented on it, before backing out from another pot.

“I’ll take that. But by god, if I hear a Celebi riding a Groudon while puking out rainbow, then I’ll out.” Axel said.

“Dude, what the hell?”

“It from one of my dreams, after I tested that focus enhance drug Celeste gave me.”

“I told you, don’t be your girlfriend test subject.” Rick laid in a bet.

“But she asked really nicely. Raise.” Axel put in more chips. “How can you say no to her?”

“Eh hem, it’s still me we are talking about here. No more delay then. So it all started in, let me see, by Celestian calendar transfer to standard then it should be sometime in May, six years ago. I had just reached the rank of Archangel. After a few days in, I realized that the new rank is such bullshit. So much stuffs that I frankly I don’t want to do.”

“Why? Isn’t that your duties and responsibilities?”

“I don’t mind the duty part and I am well aware of the responsibilities. But the part that I, myself have to deal and even talk with other Pokémon in my nation, just tired me out. While being an Angel just give them the: “Ask my superiors for that.” Bullshit. “

“Why? I thought Celestial folks are kind and polite.” Rick sounded slightly confused.

“Yeah, no, at least for me. Everyone in my nation hates me.”

“Do you know why?”

Catherine had already known the answer for the longest time. But the spare herself from any unnecessary questions, she replied. “I don’t know, they are assholes. I never ask them, never want to. So screw them.”

“It’s called karma, Catherine, there got to be a reason. Karma is like this. Doc signaled everyone to reveal their cards. “Flush. That what you got for not paying attention.” Doc said.

“Fuck. Oh, I see where this shit is going. You’re setting me up huh. I’ll get you back for that.” Catherine returned the cards and prepared for the next round. “So after all that blah blah, I was looking for something else to do in an extended time period. I saw my uncle and offered him my help. Since his last Archangel bodyguard had expired, he reluctantly took me in. I traveled with my uncle, protected the wares and watched him did trades with a few nomads along the way. I kept myself hidden in the carriage most of the time. Only went out when things began to turn sour, which almost never happen. If anything, he just exchanges a few things and leaves as soon as it was done. After a while, it got boring fast and I sometimes wished for something to go wrong. And that’s what…”

Six years ago

Catherine was still wearing the same blue coat. The only different is that the wing symbol on the back was intact. At the time, she got a pair of slack instead of her jean shorts and her guns were not yet found. She and a rather short Gallade were sitting inside a horseless carriage made from metal. In the back compartment was a complex machine run by gears and pulleys. And the main source of power for the carriage was a spinning lever covered in psychic purple glow. On top of the chariot were wooden chests strapped together. The Gallade arm was glowing purple and his eyes were glue on the glass in front of him.

Catherine looked at the Gallade, noticed his troubled expression, she asked. “Uncle, what is with the nervous face? And you haven’t told me why you left the other wagons behind?”

The Galade sighed. “Listen, Catherine. No matter what happen next, keep it quiet. And stay in the carriage.”

“What are you talking about? You are acting strange, uncle.”

The Gallade did not answer, just wiped a droplet of sweat away from his forehead. The carriage ran for another twenty minutes and stopped. As soon as that happened, a band four of cars and a van came from a distance. All of them were coated with a thick layer of rust and barb wires. The cars surrounded them and shut off their engines. Catherine had a look at the van and saw it had a medium side metal container with wheels attached to it.

“Stay here, Catherine. And remember what I told you.” The Gallade said before opening the door.

“But uncle.”

“Just stay here. They are the special traders. I know what I am doing.” He then slammed the carriage’s door.

“They sure don’t look like traders at all.” She whispered to herself while scanning the cars and followed her uncle’s every move.

The side door on the only van opened, and a Scrafty wearing sunglasses and standard bandit outfit came out. His smug manner caught her attention. Never in her life did she want to punch a Pokémon so badly. He approached her uncle and slapped his shoulder.

“Hey, Arand. How are things, old chump?” He said the voice and volume were more of an announcement rather than a friendly greeting. A group of ten or more Pokémon stepped out of the cars and surrounded Catherine’s uncle.

“Just get things over with. I got to head back by tomorrow. Show me the goods and you’ll get the crystals.” Catherine’s uncle said.

“Yeah, about that. The boss isn't too happy with the last deal.”

“What else do you want? I put my neck out for you. The Council is starting to sniff around. They were asking questions.”

“That’s not my concern. But this is. We don’t like things to trickle down anymore. And as your nation exclusive provider, we want more.”

“Well, damn you then. There is nothing more I can do. That is the best I got.” He then pointed his finger at the carriage. “It’s always is.”

“We know. We understand. So, how about you give us access to your little city?”

“Are you mad? What do you wish to accomplish by doing that? And little? Buddy, have you read the books. It’s twice the size of the Empire City. The hell hole of a place where you runts got kicked out from.”

“Believe me, the boss knows what he is doing.”

“Well, and what do you think that I will help you?”

“I guess we can just kill you here then.” He snapped his finger and the other bandits cocked their weapons.

“Wait. Wait. Wait. What? Did you just lose your marbles? What the hell is wrong with you bandits?”

“The boss’s order, extreme methods at the first sign of objection.” The other bandits pointed their guns at the Gallade, making him stepped backward to the carriage. “The boss saw the council actions in the past. The order set by them is holding back progress. Maybe we can help that. With some brand of…”

“NO, NO, NO, NO,” Catherine’s uncle pointed at the Scrafty bandit in each “no”. “Noooooooooooooo. You did not just go there. You did not. Is that the best of an excuse that your so called “boss” came up with?” The Gallade waved his arm around, agitated.

“What did you say?”

“Oh, this whole “Anarchy is the new order” nonsense is old. Everybody knows, order is mother fucking order. Yes, governments aren’t perfect and so are you dumbass son of bitches. Please, god fucking damn it, be honest. You want to invade us for the crystal, we got it. God. I hate you pretentious fuckers. The only reason you are here because all are uneducated twats and not juvenile geniuses. GOD. And I thought you guys were different.” That little verbal abuse got the bandits frozen for a few seconds.

“Okay, we’re still gonna kill you, now.”

“Uncle. Get back into the carriage. I’ll take care of this.” Catherine said behind Arand‘s back.

Arand turned around. “Catherine, how long have you been there?”

“Long enough. You have a lot of explaining to do after this.”

“Who the fuck is that?” A bandit asked and the Pokémon beside him slapped him in the back of his head. “Dumbass, she said it, she is his niece.”

The Scrafty started to clap slowly and laughed. “Oh look, an Angelic Guard boys.” The other bandits stared at him, waiting for an instruction. “This is the time for you laugh with me, sarcastically.”

“Do we need to do that, boss?” One bandit asked.

“Agh, forget it. So, Arand, you got the ball to bring one with you today? Your niece even.”

“Listens, eh, you, Fuckers? The deals are off. Now get out before things get ugly.”

“Catherine, fuckers are not their name. It’s an insult.” Arand whispered from afar.

“Oh, is that right? In that case, I meant that and why you still here, uncle? Get back to the carriage already.”

“Catherine, please.”

“I’ll be gentle with them I promise.”

“No I mean be careful, and kill them all if you can. They’re going to kill us either way.”

“Don’t expect that, but acknowledge it regardless, uncle. Now get inside. And close the door.”

“Hehehehe. Hello? Who do you think you are? You primitive little whore? We got guns, saw them? The metal thingy in each of our hand. Yeah, we can kill you with that. Throw a punch and we get like fifty rounds in you. Look at you, trying to act tough. You Celestians are so delusional that it’s comical. Haha, laugh with me this time, you idiots.” He commanded and the other bandit reached their head up to laugh along.

“Haha, what did you call me?”

“Oh, I said Agggghhhhh.” Catherine teleported behind the Scrafty and punched him in the back of the neck, hard. The blow nearly shut him down, made everything in his vision went black. He fell to the ground. His head slammed its weight on the glasses, cracked it. The others bandits were startled and stopped their forced laugh. They immediately got their head down out of reflex and fired a few rounds, almost hit the Scrafty if he had not been on the ground. Took them a few delays before realizing she had gone.

Catherine had teleported away after the punch and placed herself outside of the bandit's circle. One of them turned back and detected her. Given him no chance, she dashed forward, sucker-punched him in the face and backed out of the circle. Catherine’s right and left hands began to glow as she played hopscotch with her teleportation around the bandits, dodging their bullets in the process. In her right, Catherine used Psyshock to create small but sharp purple crystal shards. All made with her own energy. And she used these as projectiles, constantly threw them to the bandits while the Focus Blast in her left grew bigger by seconds. The shards stabbed one Machoke bandit in the face and a chock full of them pinned in a Mienfoo’s chest and stomach.

A bandit tried to jump out and attack her. But she denied it by a side kick to the chest. He was just a Sandslash so his height didn’t give her any trouble.    

“How the hell does she do that?” A Salk bandit asked as he fired his assault rifle.

“Why the hell not?” She whispered behind him before head locking him with her right arm. The bandit dropped the weapon and tried to free himself by jabbing his elbow to her side. Worked through the pain in her rib, she maintained her focus and clamped down her grip on the Pokémon’s neck. She covered her arm with the psychic glow and put a bone crushing force on the Salk's windpipe. His jabs stopped.

When his body grew limp, she used him as a meat shield and slowly backed away. She held the bandit up while aiming her Focus Blast at the other bandits, who were grouping up. “Leave or this Fighting type will perish.”

The other bandits looked at each other and made a decision in a half second. All were comfortable with shooting the bandits in her grasp, who was coughing out blood in each bullet hit. The bandits were screaming and yelling, telling all to keep firing and concentrating their fire. A few bullet punched through the meat shield, pinned in Catherine’s chest and stomach. Let out a quick grunt, Catherine launched the orb in the group of bandits.

The Focus Blast struck the ground under one bandit, triggered an explosion that made an audible crack came from his legs. The blast radius caught those surrounded him. However, did not have such a devastating effect, just knocked them away from the heart of the explosion. However, that not what Catherine intended to do. The attack caused a widespread cloud of dust to rise from the ground, tall enough to obscure the bandits’ vision, making them panic and fired in random directions.

Catherine released the dead bandit in her grip and put her hands together. As they started to glow bright, another bullet flew through the dust and scratched her shoulder. The sudden pain made her felt the urge to break the connection of her palms. She bit down her lip and clawed her hands tight together, keeping the connection between them. The ground under her began to glow as her hands slowly separated. “Angel lift.” She said and lifted her hand. Louder panic screams from the bandits were heard as they flew up near fifty feet in a weightless state.

The bandits tried “swimming” in the air to rotate their body and aimed down at the ground. Catherine lifted them higher, making it harder for them to get an accurate shot at her. Before they could fully adjust themselves, her Angel lift’s effect wore off and their bodies then rained down from the sky. But Catherine didn’t let up. She casted a massive Burden on the field in front of her and right under the bandits. The bandits’ bodies were sucked to the field below and accelerated. All were screaming before either their heads or their backs struck the ground. She closed her eyes before they made contact. Each snap and crack she heard from their broken bodies were nailing itself into her mind. Forever served as reminders of what she did and how cruel her attacks could be.  

When the last body fall. Catherine waved her hand and performed a Fairy Wind. The move cleared up the leftover dust and sand in the air. She began breathing slowly in order to make the pain in her torso more manageable. Stared down at the ground, she saw all the twisted necks and burst open heads. Their inner fluid and mashed up brain were exposed, even some of them were still pulsing. The sight made her sick to her stomach. She swallowed some of her salivae, making sure to keep her lunch inside.

A loud banging sound of metal accompanied by the Scrafty voice were heard from her right. ‘You think you won? Primitive whore? You are dead wrong. This time, I shall release the beast! And I am not referring to the beer.’ The Scrafty had somehow got up and walked to the back of his van. He now stood beside the container linked to his van. Despite a broken piece of glass was in his face, he let out a smile. Wipe the blood off his cheek, he punched the lock on the container. The red lights above it changed to green and the “door” began to open.

A Krookodile much larger than Catherine was released. The Pokémon was wearing a white trench coat splattered with blood and a long pair of ripped jeans. The hood on the coat covered his face and shown only his red snout and teeth. Around his neck was a collar with spikes attached to it. He let out a hellish growl and his glowing eyes tossed a death stare at Catherine, made her froze on the spot. “What on heaven?”

“Good, now, kill.” The Scrafty said before biting down his teeth, making the collar let out an ominous glow. The dark type briefly looked at the sky and growled again. A black aura then oozed from his sleeves and hood. Most of them gathered up around his claws, a chunk of it formed into metal like texture, made the claws appeared longer and sharper. His glowing eyes changed from yellow to red. Locked his vision at Catherine, he crouched down before charging at her, with his claws struck out from the sleeves.

Saw the raging beast was coming, Catherine quickly regained composure. She dodged his first couple of swipes by teleporting backward. His claws drew long black and lingering lines in the air after each unsuccessful hit.

“Ha, you might have been a match for my boys, but let see how you handle this one.” The Scrafty said from the safety of his van. “He is a Keeper, the carrier of a demonic curse. And I’m not referring to, blah, don’t care. You are going to die anyway, go get her.”

Catherine did not pay much attention to that as she was too busy trying to dodge the darkness infused slashes. She figured the best thing she could do is to charge up her Focus Blast and hoped the type advantages would get him to back down. And yet, he showed no sign of burden after seeing the growing orb, just slashing away in a frenzy. However, in one split second, she found a moment when his claws left a large open in his left side. And that would be where she placed the orb.

However, the Ground type did not simply take it. To her surprise, just when her Focus Blast left her hand, he escaped in a black aura dash. The orb kept flying and hit the ground in front of her. The concussive shock from the explosion knocked Catherine on her back and scraped her skin and coat. Catherine teleported herself to immediately get back up. ‘Damn it.’ She said before hearing a growl behind her back. Did not need to turn around, she teleported forward, narrowly escaped a cross clash.

She then teleported herself to face him. When she did, her right hand let out a glow and got the Psyshock crystals ready. Without hesitation, she threw the salvo of energy crystals at the Krookodile. The Pokémon stopped in his track and slammed his feet down. “Stone edge”, he said as the ground beneath him cracked and sharp pieces of rock flew up, blocked out most of the crystals. He was more than willing to take a few crystals in his chest without. Struck his hand out, the sharp rocks then flew at Catherine. Instead of throwing all at once, he threw a few at the time.

Catherine kept her focus and dodged a series of narrow escapes. When he lost half of the Stone Edge, she charged up another Focus Blast and ran forward. The Krookodile dashed back, moving away from her while continued throwing the rocks. She launched the attack when it was ready. The Krookodile released the last of the rocks and dashed far away from her attack with ease. Catherine came right to the last rocks and one dug into her shoulder. The vibration from the point of impact transferred to the rest of her arm, shocking her system. She kneeled down on the ground, winced while yanking the piece of stone out. Measured by the blood on the stone, it had cut her real deep. Blood from her body began to dampen her coat, made her shaking from the blood loss.

She looked at the Krookodile, who was standing still in a slightly crouched down stance. The dark aura around him began to grow and soon he yelled. “Raging Darkness.” On his command, the added aura then escaped his body and went forward in the form of a black tidal wave, which consumed everything in its path. The ground where it passed was burnt and cracked opened, made it looked more lifeless than it already was. Catherine saw the gigantic wave of death and quickly teleported to the left. But the wave suddenly changed its course and still heading straight for her. The Krookodile now stood upright and grinned as he watched Catherine struggled to escape.

In the heat of battle, an idea the sparked up in her head. It was a risk that she had to take. Catherine stopped running away and ran toward the wave head on. Her boots were slowly covered by the purple glow as she approaching it. And when the wave was a few feet away, she jumped. The added boost from the glow was what she need to vault over the wave. Miraculously, she landed without a scratch on her, all while the black wave kept moving straight to nowhere.

With the remaining momentum, she continued sprinting toward the Krookodile. The Pokémon tried to create another wave, but Catherine suddenly teleported, immediately shorten the distance. Caught the Pokémon off guard, she jumped and raised her leg for a kick. But as she nearly got her high kick in motion, her slack stopped her from reaching maximum height. The result was a rather weak and pathetic attack that just seem to gently nudge the Krookodile’s snout. She fell down on the ground with a painful thud. But that fall was nothing compare to what would come next.

_(“Wow, cockblocked by your pants. That one got to hurt.”_

_“Shut the fuck up, Rick.”)_

Catherine heard the Krookodile’s breaths; it was so close to her. She felt a warm touch before experienced a powerful vice clamped down on her sides. The Krookodile had her between his jaws and began to lift her up. His sharp teeth cut into her flesh like a knife through a sheet of paper. Because of that, she didn’t feel much direct pain. But that didn’t mean everything was painless. Seconds later, the bacteria infected saliva and the bullet holes she had already accumulated from before created a mixture of burning agony. Something she never had and never wanted to experience again. She couldn’t keep her silence at that point, no one could, she screamed louder than ever. Heard her reaction and felt the vibration from her body to his teeth, the Pokémon decided to torture her by slowly but firmly bit down, wished to grant her a slow painful death.

“Just let me go.” She yelled after screaming her lungs out.

_(“After I got out of the maw of death, I shot a Focus Blast down his throat. Fucked him up real good.”_

_“Wait, hold it right there. Didn’t you just got bitten in the gut?”_

_“Yes, thank you for reminding me that, Rick?”_

_“So how did you beat the demonic incarnation of a Pokémon then? What kind of impossible plot point had happened?” Doc said._

_“Eh, skills? I mean, he is fast and ruthless but he gets tires out fast.”_

_“Dude, you were inside his mouth, how? Oh…, I get it, yeah definitely skills.” Rick almost forgot about their conversation the previous week, but he remembered it now._

_“Let me explain, okay? Just when all hope is lost, and I was bleeding and screaming. My uncle popped up from behind the Krookodile.”_

_“And?” The other three said in unison._

_“He threw a rock at it.”_

_“The…hell?” Axel said._

_“How is that even a possibility?” Doc added along._

_“It was a big rock.” She added and shrugged her shoulders. “And after I killed him, we looted the cars not before doing something about the Scrafty douchebag.’_

_“No way, that can’t be happening. You must be hiding something.”_

_“You can say that a million time and my answer will be the same, no.”)_

What Catherine didn’t tell them was.

“Don’t worry Catherine. I got this.” The Gallade let out a grunt and threw a rock the size of his fist at the back of the Krookodile’s head. The small rock did not make the Pokémon bat an eye and continued his grip on Catherine. He tried grabbed the Pokémon by the tail but was slapped in the face by it instead. And just like that, he fell unconscious.

Catherine tried to punch whatever was in her reach. Did not work out so well, for her arm was not long enough. “Stop it. I demand you to let me go or you will regret it. Arggh. Uncle do something, it hurts. Uncle!!!” The teeth were now pinning her internal organs. She could feel his foul breath touched them as seconds went by. And at the same time, heard the sound of his throat gulping down a mix of her blood and his saliva. To her, that sound was a taunt: _“I’m drinking you like a juicy flesh fruit. And there is not a single damn thing you can do about it.”_

In a moment of desperation, the voice within her spoke. _“Give in, let go and I’ll take care of everything.”_ She agreed.  As hard as it was in that circumstance, she closed her eye and let loose of her body, made it look like a ragdoll. Thought that Catherine had fallen unconscious from the pain he inflicted, the Krookodile no longer found joy in torturing her. He positioned his head straight up to catch the rest of the blood.

But then, the teeth of the Krookodile were slowly pushed out. Her body suddenly sprang back into action. Her hand then elbowed the Krookodile’s teeth repeatedly. This time much, much more powerful than her last attempts. After six or seven hits, she dislodged a few of his teeth. The pain made him widen his mouth, gave Catherine enough room to reach her left hand inside. A small Crimson Focus Blast orb was beginning to form and she was aiming it at the darkness that led down his throat. “Show me your inside.” Catherine said in her deep voice, just before launching the orb. The orb traveled down his throat and stopped in his stomach. The orb touched the wall of his stomach and expanded. The Krookodile’s teeth completely left Catherine as he choked on the Crimson Focus Blast. And dropped her as soon as he felt his stomach began to stretch open. And without knowing it, the orb exploded from within him, inflated his stomach and made it burst like a water balloon. The shockwave blew Catherine and a large quantity of blood and gore far away from the Krookodile. The Dark type was overloaded with agony and his body crashed to the ground.

From the puddle of crimson and sticky liquid, Catherine rose up. The entire coat was dyed in blood and the black liquid. Her own dark purple aura escaped the bullets holes and teeth marks on her body. It healed her up from within in mere seconds, took away the pain and left only scars behind. Catherine’s head started twitching when the aura stopped swirling around and focused on her left hand. She had a good look at the ravaged upper body of the Krookodile. A long string of intestine was presented in front of her feet. Tracked after it and she got a glimpse of his intact ribs; the shredded liver and pancreas; and even caught sight of 4 small beating hearts laying on a pair of nearly deflated lungs. She stepped on the string of intestine. The damp and slick “squish” sound filled the voice with delight. She then slowly walked to the panicking head, which was gasping for its final breaths of air. When she was a few feet away, Catherine put the aura-covered hand in front of her and said. “Together once more.” Like a swarm of gluttonous grasshoppers, the aura flew out from her hand and feed on the Krookodile damaged the body, made him screamed in terror with the little air he had. The aura crawled into every corner hidden in his flesh and bone, stripping out the force that kept him alive at that point. When the thing she needed was extracted, the aura returned to Catherine, leaving behind a pale body of the Krookodile. His face locked in a stiff and frightened face. She cracked an ear-to-ear grin when the hearts stopped beating.

Behind her came the van’s engine noise. She turned around and saw the Scrafty was getting away, probably had changed his mind after seeing his newest investment exploded. Catherine simply teleported in front of the van. The Scrafty stepped on the gas pedal and accelerated, planned to run her over. But when Catherine touched the van, her hand dug into the engine, destroyed it and stopped the van completely. The Scrafty’s face was smashed into the windshield and fell back with a bleeding forehead. The Scrafty’s vision become fuzzy. That combined with the smoke from the busted engine made Catherine’s appearance looked more like a monster than ever. He frantically trying to unlock the door and get out. Just when he got his hand on the handle, Catherine grabbed him by the leg and yanked him out. ‘Leaving so soon?’ He shook his leg and held on the handle like his life, yet Catherine got him out regardless. When he was out, Catherine gently tossed him into the air and grabbed him by the neck. She brought him near her grinning face. ‘You haven’t got your turn yet.’ The Scrafty begged but Catherine did not listen. Without a word, she threw the Pokémon forty feet upward.

Her left-hand glow and performed Psyshock. However, instead of creating a small object with the psychic glow, she created a long and large spike. With a little adjustment of her hand, the point of the spike was in line with the Scrafty’s back. When the Pokémon came down, the spike impaled him, cut right through the spine. Forced him to scream as he hopelessly watched the tip of the spike rose from his bloody chest. As gravity pulled his body down, slowly and drastically magnified his suffering. His screaming went weak and prompted the body to do the same. She stopped maintaining the spike and dropped the Scrafty on the ground when his body went limp.  

The aura went back inside of Catherine as her mind slowly came to. She started gasping while looking at her blood covered hands and the gigantic hole on the Scrafty. “Oh my goodness.” She exclaimed after realized what she had done or at least allowed the voice to do. A frozen feeling ran down her spine and her feet felt weak. However, with determination, she shook her head. “No! Calm down, you know this would happen, just calm down, he was attacking you. You have all the reasons to. Just calm down”, she panted while repeating “Calm down” to herself. But after looking at the remaining body of the Krookodile that little talk certainly didn’t work anymore. She felt like passing out. Before she could, her uncle caught and comforted her.

“It’s okay Catherine, it’s over.”

She continued panting hard. Her uncle didn’t know what to do with that besides patting her on the shoulder and helping her standing up. Suddenly, the Scrafty coughed out blood and started breathing again. He was still alive but was losing his time in the world rather fast.

“Catherine. Can you still walk?”

“Yes, uncle.”

“Good, first, get to his van and sit down for a while. Salvage whatever you can when you’re at it. I know you are experiencing so much trauma right now, but we got to do this fast. I’ll take care of him and the rest of ware. Just take all you that need or whatever interests you. I’ll stage something and run the cars off a cliff. Make it look like an accident. Get us off the hook.”

“Arand…you son of a…” The Scrafty said in his dying breath.

The Gallade let go of Catherine kneeled down. He put his hands around the Scrafty’s neck and choked him, with some difficulties. The sound made Catherine looked at the other way. Both then separated. Arand went in the cars and took everything he could. He got a total of five metal chests with various labels and tied them around the carriage. During this process, he constantly asked Catherine whether she was fine or not. She never answered him.

Catherine got inside the back compartment of the van. The inside of it look like a small room with a table and a fancy chair. The wood and craftsmanship of it suggested a hefty price tag. Catherine sat, there and tried to repress what just had happened. She picked herself up again and looked around the interior for something to take. Knowing her uncle’s priorities in life, he would be upset if she came back empty handed. The things that caught her eyes were two revolvers hanging on the wall. One silver white and one pure black with the sight in the shape of a scythe. Something about their steel cold looks drawn them to her. Given that she had fended off a group of bandits with her own, maybe these would give her the added odd of survival. With them, she might be able to protect herself without letting the rampaging voice out. Without thinking too much of it and the support from her uncle’s: “Salvage whatever you can”, she took both of them along with a few books and a deck of playing cards lying under the table. There was also a safe there but since she lacked the correct combination code, she just left it. She had a look at the books. There was no theme to these, just random fields and topics. There was even a nudie magazine mixed in, which she discarded without a second glance. The one that sparked most attention was an astrophysics one. Something about that word seemed alien, but something in her gut told her that it would be useful.

Back to the present

“Wow, how convenient. One trip and you got all the stuff you need in the next six years.”

“Shut the hell up Ax-hole. So after looting everything, I backed inside the carriage while waiting for my uncle to finish the setup. Longest fucking hour of my life. When he got back, blood and sweat were all over his face and him just calmly said, “Everything is over, I got the goods and the cars are taken care of.” His attitude was like taking out the trash or some shit: “No biggie, we just killed some folks and looted their shit”. His words just broke my heart; he cared about a few jars of olives more than his own niece.”

“At least he threw a rock to rescue ya.”

“Yeah, at least he did that.”

“Not just a rock, Rick, a big rock.”

“Really folding it in Doc,” Axel said.

“Afterward, as you might expect, just asked my uncle a million questions about what the hell was going on. He shrugged off some but in short said that was the only way for Celestian to get import goods at this age and time. The essential kinds in large quantity anyway. No nation was willing to make trades with us anymore because of the separation and the paranoid that followed. I don’t understand half of that so didn’t know what he said was true or not but I digressed.”

Rick said, “It was true, not in detail but that was the grand scheme of things on Essal. Paranoia is friggin everywhere.”

Axel raised then said, “That is quite a risky game your uncle play.”

“Agree. A dangerous game like that will sooner or later get you exiled. Not to be pessimistic, just stating the facts. I shall raise.”

“He did what he has to do. He is a merchant, it’s in his blood. He just wants to serve Celestial the same way as his ancestor or he likes seeing the money. Don’t know which, but I’m sure he cannot keep that up for long. I told him all the time but he just shrugs it off.”

“I hope it would be long enough for him to find a new way.”

“Uh huh, or maybe we will bump into him sometime in the future. So after all that were cleared up, I asked him about the cards I found, a way to, you know, change the subject. And he taught me how to play along our way home. Thinking about it now, I don’t think those were just olives in those chests, but screw it, doesn’t matter, it’s like 6 years ago. And yeah, that was, pretty much it. That’s how I learn Poker. Are you not entertained?”

“That depends on lots  things.”

“I kinda like it.”

“Well, I have some doubt about how your uncle subdued a demonic being with a big rock. I guess there were complications that you didn’t wish to share with us.”

“Believe it or not, your choice.”

“So you have been playing this game all those years?”

“Nah, I just play sometimes. But I have never defeated my uncle. Every time he beat me at this game, he looks like striking gold. Again, that moment when he rubbed it in my face just make it worse.”

Doc tapped on his cards. “But in the end, sorry that you have to put up with an uncle like that.”

“He is not that bad actually. But yeah, I’ll take that sorry for him.”

“Okay. Let’s see what we got.” Rick said and both Doc and Rick flipped their card cards. Rick got a pair of Kings, and Doc a pair of two. And Rick claimed the pot.

“See, you are doing much better, now that you are all, happy up,” Catherine said.

“Hehe, just lucky I guess.” Rick took the chips.

Axel then said. “So Doc, all my life, I see you as a dedicated worker and mercenary. When did you learn to play cards? A game that well engineers and doctors would shun.”

“Oh yes, of course. Oh, hum, I don’t quite know.”

“How is that possible?” Axel said and folded his turn.

“Dude, I can barely remember how I learn to play, and that was just like, 20 years plus. Doc got like eh, three point five times of that. Give the dude a break.”

“For I have suggested this, I will definitely tell you. But, give me some time. My memory is funny. I’m just trying to think back into my past. I don’t usually think too much about it, besides for experience and patterns. I’m the kind of Pokémon that is more interested in tomorrow.”

Doc then went quiet and looked at his new cards, took him quite a while to make the decision of bet 3000 credits. All were waiting for his answer while focusing on the current round. The atmosphere was growing heavier and things were getting stuffing. Mercy exited the kitchen section with a tray on her hand. “Okay, I got the special sweet and vials for everyone.” Her voice provided some relief. She placed the vials on the table beside Doc’s hand.

“Appreciate it, Mercy.” He said.

Mercy then placed large beer glassed on Catherine and Axels’ side. Rick, however, got two. In each of these glasses were small green balls.

“Now, now. No one getting angry at Rick. He got a bigger mouth than everyone else.”

“I’m not bitching about that. But what the fuck is this thing?”

“Catherine, language dear.”

“Sorry, but what are these made of?”

“It’s a special kind of sweet. Nontoxic, non-additive sweet.”

“Yeah, just treat this as the rule of hot dogs: ”Love it, enjoy it, but never ask where it came from.” It might scar you for life.”

Catherine put one in her mouth and started chewing. The sweetness in it was unique, to say the least. She had never tasted anything quite like it. She swallowed, feeling a dry sensation in her throat.

“I’m gonna need something to drink. My throat suddenly feels dry. Must be from all that talking from earlier.”

“I have some alcohol mixed berry juices in the fridge. I’ll get them for you if you want it.”

“Oh, thanks. That would be great.” Catherine said before taking a bite and had a quick peek at her cards. “Check.”

“Drinking Alcohol when thirsty will make you lose even more water,” Axel said.

“Pf, who the hell care?”

Doc drank the vial and looked at his cards. “Give me a glass as well.” He then summoned a collar device with a few vials connect to its back, after that he put it around his neck. Doc didn’t flinch when the needles’ points inside the collar pierced the holes on his necks.

“Don’t look everyone. It’s rather unpleasant.”

“Too late,” Axel said. “Another bet coming up, anybody in?”

“Hum, like all other time, not gonna chicken shit out of that. Seriously, that’s not gonna work. And Doc, is that what you have to do for a drink?” Catherine said.

“Yes.”

“Shit, that gotta sucks.”

“Technically it does. It sucks excessive liquid out of my system.”

“Okay, don’t tell me. Oh shit, it’s in my head. Oh god.”

“You’ll get used to it, in the next three or six months,” Rick said.

Doc scratched his head. “My memory bank must be really cramped, will need some time to fully access. I have a tendency to replace or overlap memory with knowledge. But I don’t know, something is preventing me from restoring the data concerning this particular memory.”

“Data? Wait, your brain is like a machine or something?”

“Yes, it was one of my life projects. I replaced half of my brain with nanobots when I was 47. It helps me control my cybernetics along with achieving maximum concentration and the ability to calculate at high speed. Quite useful.  Use it to manage my memory as well. All in the effort of helping me become more than just a Pokémon.”

“Oh shit. You got to be careful with that. Like…”

“If you concern that the machine will take over me, then worry not. I have already gone through it. That why I keep some part of my organic brain. Thanks to that decision I still retain emotion and humor, the essential of being a living organism.”

“Humor?”

“Yes, quite unexpected isn’t it, that is the only natural defense mechanism that no machine can duplicate.”

“I don’t know, no offense but I doubt the humor part.”

“I’m your adopted father Axel so of course, my jokes are bad. That’s why they have the term dad jokes.”

“I, I don’t get it,” Catherine said. Followed by Rick. “Me either.”

“Humor is subjective, I guess,” Doc said he seemed disappointed.

Mercy returned with the drinks and gave it to everyone. Placed in large cups were red liquid. “Good, this will help refresh my memory. Or at least confuse my system.”

“Isn’t that how alcohol works?”

Doc drank it and the vials on his neck filled up with a white liquid.

“Ugh, gross.”

Axel said, “When you are old and your body is beaten up by all kind of wars and conflicts, let see if you could say so.”

“Oh yes, that’s it. Thank you, Axel. That triggered a memory respond.”

“Wow. That was random, but you’re welcome?”

“Or was it the alcohol? Doesn’t matter. Yes, it’s starting to come back to me. The cards, they were given to me. The one that did so was a comrade of mine during the Sunset war.”

“You fought in the Sunset war?’ Rick said. ‘How come you never tell me?”

“Yeah, me too. You only told me out the Apocalypse one.”

“Because you both never ask? No memory respond, to begin with. And well, like I said, I never think too much about the past. The knowledge I earned during war times were near zero, so they don’t stand out in my head.”

“Wait, how come soldiers have playing cards? I thought it was illegal during wars time.” Axel said as he stroked his non-existent chin.

“You and I will see it soon enough. It slowly being revealed in my head. I might ramble on as the memory flow is rather unstable. I’ll try my best to make this worthwhile to hear. Apologize in advance.”

“I’m okay with that. Not that I have done anything better with my story.” Catherine said.

“I got a bad feeling about this, man. I mean, I asked you about Genesis’s involvement in the Apocalypse War and you somehow led it to me having chronic imaginary pain in my heart for many months. Now, just thinking about it make my inside hurt.”

“Oh, that’s another great reminder. Another crucial part of the memory. Thanks, Rick.”

“Oh God. Glad can help Doc, glad I can help.”

“What’s wrong, Rick?” Catherine asked.

“Apparently, Doc’s told Rick about how he lost his organs during the Apocalypse war. That’s what I got.”

“Holy shit.”

“You know Doc. If it’s too much then you don’t have to. It’s just a card game. Don’t mind what Catherine said.”

“Hey.”

“Negative. I’m a Pokémon of his words. I started this so I must take part in it. But I’m also curious about what I did in the past. So have I got your attention?”

“You can definitely say that. You can’t just do a tease like that and back the fuck out.”

“I guess so.”

“Still, have a bad feeling about it. Anything war related is bad, no brainer man.”

“Good. Everyone is on board. A sense of timeline first. Do you know about the Sunset war, Catherine?”

“Yeah, I heard it from a TV show. Is it the last global war before the Apocalypse one? That’s all I got.”

“Good enough, a sense of timeline from everyone would make it easier to follow. Back then, let’s see, it was, 70 years ago, back then, I was still a young and full fleshed Kadabra. Eh, let’s see, it was near the end of the Sunset war. The supply of soldiers were running low, so all males in the Glacier nation had no choice but to fight for the Dawn army. Doesn’t matter if you have just graduated from the academy with top performances, you had to answer the call of your nation.

The general idea at the time is that we were the good guys and we were fighting for a good cause, protecting our own nation and the neighboring ones. However, years later, I doubt that. Not denying it, because it would be a great insult to my own country. But I still have the rights to doubt, don’t I?”

“So that happened to your brother as well? Huh? Would ya look at that?” Rick said and took another pot. “Another good thing.”

“Congrats, but yes, all males. However, I and my brother have no objections against such policies. Not what we wanted but we accepted it with pride regardless. Our parents were in debt of the Glacier nation a lot. Not in a monetary sense but in favors and well lives. They couldn’t ever repay due their age and health situation, so we were honored to do that for them. Sorry, we are getting off track here. Should get back to the cards. Yes.”

“So who gave them to you?”

“Argh. Memory is still rather fuzzy. The system is still fighting me for some reason. But it’s going back. However, much like leaks, painfully slow. But thankfully since it ties to the day I lost my legs, it is so much easier to recollect from there.”

“Oh god, I know it. I know some kind of body part is going to get involved.” Rick said.

“Pokémon lose lives during the war. Losing a pair of legs is not even compare. Let’s see eh, that memory was somehow tied to one morning in July 2045. My platoon was camping out at the outskirt of Rowgenburg, Glacier. Hum, strange, my memory says it was a lovely morning and everyone felt like a poet. And I mean everyone. Isn’t that weird.”

“That is random for sure.”

“So one morning we all just woke up, sniffed the air around camp and say: ”Let’s write a letter”. Those spontaneous moments are rare at the time. Most of us would either be too exhausted or too anxious about our missions and ask whenever we would be alive the next day or not. As a result, didn’t even have the time to look at the sky. Unless when we were expecting enemy aircraft or missiles. I remembered seeing a Pokémon got his brain blown all over my uniform the previous week and a lot of dead bodies of my fallen comrades. Repressing memories indeed. May these are the reason that my system refuse to let me access to it. Too many gruesome images for me to bear, I guess. Maybe so. I didn’t know what I was thinking at the time. I have seen bodies in worse conditions these days.”

Rick said, “When you were a rookie, you are going to find those sights unbearable at first. And they are not just your enemies, they could be from your own nation, your friend, family even. That is some traumatic shit right there. And it’s gonna haunt you for a good long while.”

“Yes, thank you for the insight. Get back to the optimistic moment. Since we thought that this might be our last “lovely” morning to spend, so we enjoyed it while we can. Due to limited resources and services, each of us could only send one letter. I wish I could send two. One for my brother and my parents. But I digressed. While all the other soldiers tried to write the most romantic letters to their lovers that were waiting for them, I wrote to my parents.” Rick tried not to laugh by clearing his throat at that part.

“Go ahead and laugh. It’s good for your health. And yes, it was quite funny to me at the time too.”

“So, you were not very popular at the academy?” Rick said.

“Hahaha, quite the contrary. I was every popular, mind you. But I have no intention of starting a relationship. Too complicated and time-consuming.”

“Why is that?”

“For one, I’m not a native Glacian, that’s a big turn-off to the ice cold ladies of the Glacier nation. Chasing them would be near impossible.”

“Doc,” Axel said in mild disgust.

“Oh, please. It’s game night. Let’s loosen up a bit. It is not necessary to be serious all the time.”

“Not that, just the descriptions. Don’t do that again, please.”

“No promises.”

“And the other reasons?”

“Well, when I was younger, around the age of five, my father knew where the world was heading to. The Sunset war was in the prepping stage. All the nations were looking for a way or another to start the war. During that time my father told me about our duties and their debts to the country. My father made it clear that: “What would be the point of weight yourself down with future relationships? The one with your own family and the country is enough.” Make it easier to focus on fighting for Glacier nation later on. He had prepared us for the day we left.”

“No strings attach huh?” Catherine said.

“Well, obvious isn’t it? So, back to the main story, there I was writing my letter. I got no poetic vocabularies so I was just using the best ones that I got. I tried to make my condition sound, safe and relatively comfortable. While in reality, it is the opposite as you may expect. Don’t want to make them worry too much. That was the best I could do for them. The promise of returning also, that’s the most important thing. So I had just finished my letter there and put it in the letter bag. I didn’t know if that was sent or not. My parents didn’t remember about it. But that was when our communication expert got an order from our superiors and said:

“Agni nation forces were spotted six hundred meters from our location. They are crossing a bridge north from here, as we speak. Our Intel informed that there is high profile personnel among them. Commander Lozatov said we have to stop their advancements at all cost. That was an order.”

A young Kadabra wearing blue army uniform stood up and grabbed his rifle. Around him, other Pokémon wearing the same attire did the same. All the Pokémon quickly gathered everything and followed an Abomasnow carrying a backpack filled with various devices and two antennas stuck out. They marched in a single, well-organized line. Doc along with a Weavile was in the middle of it.

Passed through the forest, they reached a crevice; under it was a river with a violent stream. Then they quickly approached the bridge their superior was mentioning. It was a medium size steel bridge, enough for two lines of tanks to pass through. There was no other Pokémon or any vehicle on and at the other side of the bridge. The deserted settings made them all hesitated for a moment. However, all decided to cross it after hearing more words from their superior.

The Abomasnow set his foot on the bridge and a loud boom was immediately triggered. The bridge then shook and propelled the Abomasnow backward. An ice type yelled: “Explosive” and motioned everyone to duck down. But after those initial blasts, things went quiet. The planted bombs in the parts near Doc’s platoon and the middle section had exploded, and yet the bridge somehow was still standing.  

_(“We had an assumption that the explosives they were using were either too old or not suitable for the job. The war was reaching the end. Not many military grade explosives are left. We and they, sometimes use mining explosive. They are not as effective and the detonator sometimes doesn’t work right, especially when the humidity is high. Sorry, technological sidetrack. So my platoon was ordered to cross the bridge regardless. And I was tasked with defusing the remaining explosives. A mean to ensure their safety.”_

_“Defusing bombs. A bit of a far stretch for a combat engineer don’t you think?”_

_“I have some training, and at the time had some was enough. I remember hearing the Arcadian were creating a massive number of low-quality tanks just to crush the enemies with sheer number. It worked, in some regards. Sorry technological talk sidetrack again. But that information is knowledge, so I remember them extremely well._

_So I went under the bridge through an intact maintenance section. I was not alone, a Weavile was covering me and his name was. Hum, again, strange, he is the only one that had been through all the missions with me and I somehow forgot his name. How unfortunate. I remember he was a bit straight forward, but at that time and age, who wouldn’t? Anyhow, we stormed in.”)_

Doc and the Weavile made their way through a maintenance pathway hidden under the bridge. They took the path on the left as the other was blown up by the blast. From there Doc found a long wire running along the pathway and attached to messy chunks of explosive wrapped in black nylon bags. All these chunks were stuck in the gaps of the steel beam. Doc carefully inspected each lump of explosive, one by one. He slowly but firmly pulled out the wires, making sure not to cause any excessive friction. When the detonator wires were removed, he threw the explosive wrapped in bags to the water down below. A big no-no in the training manual, but the situation allowed it.

The Weavile got his eyes on the other end of the pathway at all time. His weapon was pointed at any possible targets that might interrupt Doc. After they had made it halfway through, the Weavile radioed his comrade and told them to continue crossing the bridge. The marching of their feet could be heard from above.

Suddenly Doc heard a barrage of machine gun noise. Doc and the Weavile worked their way to the end of the bridge, toward the noise of the gunfire. Unfortunately for the platoon, things took a turn for the worst. Their comrades reported that there was a sniper stationed along the shore on the other side and he was picking them apart alongside with the machine gun. Knowing a crossfire like that just spelled doom for everyone, Doc, and the Weavile made haste. Doc’s hand movements were getting fast and reckless but not to a regrettable point. After two minutes or so, they got to the other side and stealthily climbed up the pathway.

They saw the Magma with the heavy machine gun in his hand. Thankfully, the sound from the heavy weapon made him unaware of their present. The Weavile jumped out and assaulted him, caught the fire type by surprised. He set fire to himself at reflex. Unburden by the melting pain, the Weavile disabled the Pokémon with a good slash to the neck, instantly put out the fire. Magma like blood flew from the open wound and partially burned into the Weavile’s uniform. The Magma dropped the gun and held his neck, made a few choking sound then fell. But then two bullets came and shot the Weavile in the leg and arm. The Weavile retaliated with a shot from his rifle. Doc rushed out and saw another Magma. He was kneeling and clutched to his chest. In his other hand was a pistol aiming at the Weavile. The adrenaline in Doc’s system allowed him to kill the Pokémon with a head shot, right in the two lumps on the fire type head.

Afterward, Doc checked on the Weavile. However, the Weavile he told him to spare the pity and take care of the sniper. Doc fulfilled his demand by grabbing the heavy machine gun beside the bleeding body of the Magma and cocked it.

Back to the game room

“Holy shit.”

“Dude, how come you never told me that you were such a badass?” Rick said.

“Well, I’m not sure if I am qualified. The Scientific term for badasses is that they do whatever they want in a rather brutal fashion. This was different. The situation provided me with little options. Even if I know doing that will more than likely get me killed, I have to do it. My platoon needs to advance. Argh, my head suddenly hurt. I haven’t felt that for quite a while.”

“Maybe you should stop.”

Doc shook his head. “No, I’m fine, so close to answering, and can’t stop now. Back to the topic. So I did what I said. I picked up the machine gun and fired at the sniper from afar. The shots were inaccurate and I couldn’t tell if they did hit. But the sniper certainly stopped for a brief while, so I continued. My comrades kept moving forward while I provided cover fire. A few of them picked up the Weavile and took him to safety. The sniper continued firing at me, somehow failed to nail a shot. That made me cocky.” He shook his head once more. “But well, that was what I thought at first. Miscalculation. Lack of data.” Doc started blinking repeatedly and shaking his head even more. He then rubbed his temple. “Despite the shots were heading in my general direction. It was not targeted toward me.”

Axel said, “Then where was it?” By this time, they had stopped the game.

“You see, the reason why the bridge had not fallen down is because not all the explosive have been detonated and myself had defused a lot of them. But there were more explosive around the bridge that in the moment of haste I failed to detect. One of them was a large pack of explosive that were not properly armed and exposed outside of the bridge. And that pack was right under my feet. And that was what the sniper was aiming for.”

“Oh god!” Catherine exclaimed.

Doc rubbed his temple hard. “Argh. I didn’t even know what happened. A second there I could hear the sound of running behind me and the next thing I know’ vivid images began to flash back to Doc’s mind ‘the world turned upside down. Took me half a second or so after that to know that I was being thrown by something hot. I then crashed my head and everything went black.”

“God.”

“I” everything then rushed back to Doc’s head. The system within him had given in. It knew that its user wanted to access and it could not stop it. It removed the barriers and allowed the data to go through. Doc recollected all the pieces and put them together. He knew why the system had been keeping him away from these memories. He had programmed them to do so, in order to keep his past from disrupting his future. Doc’s speed in tone shifted, softer and slower. “I woke up in a daze inside a cabin. I couldn’t feel a thing down my legs. It was not numbing but it was like a disconnection. As if half of my body was laying on thin air. My face was hot and yet my feet were incapable of telling if things were too hot or too cold. I try to move my toes and got no respond. I recalled screaming a lot. A nurse approached me and told me to calm down. Ironically, she, herself was having trouble calming down on her won. I demanded an answer and she dropped the bombshell on me. A piece of metal had stabbed me in the spine, the spinal cord in charge of my lower body. And I was paralyzed from the waist down, forever. After that, I remembered cursing, at my fate and myself. And after my throat ran dry, I laid there, quietly. There was a wide range of emotion ran through my head that no amount of data could cover. I didn’t talk to anyone for a few months straight, just me and the angry voices that I made up.”

“Yeah, you must be going nuts in that state.”

“Yes, I believe that was an understatement, Rick. I was devastated. Felt like everything I planned just went up in smoke. The moment of utter defeat. Just when you thought you have everything figured out the world collapse around you.

But there was some light in the end. During my, “going nuts period”. The Weavile paid me a visit. He spent a few days, helped me reclaimed some of my sanity. Wasn’t an easy task. He even kneeled down at one point to thanks me for saving his life. I wish not to tell the other content of that conversation, for an obvious reason. But bottom line, he made me talked and felt like a regular Pokémon again, for a while. Until he left, that is. Sadly, I only started talking when he can only stay there for one more night before going back to his missions. We didn’t have video games or anything to keep us entertain during the time. And making small talks were awkward, to say the least. So he had an idea, he taught me how to play Poker, for that was the only option available. And that was when he gave me the cards. They were an impulse purchase that he wanted to hide away from his superiors. He said don’t tell anyone as they would give him a lot of trouble for even thinking about gambling during that time of war, as Axel has stated. And since I am officially not in the line of duty, he figured I was the best place to hide it. He added that the cards were rather expensive so I must keep it in mint condition until he got back.” He sighed. “And sadly, the cards are still in my possession until this day.”

Did not need much else for everyone to figure it out. They (including Mercy) kept silent while Doc continued. “The outcome of things were bittersweet for me. I lost my legs so I as assigned to a position behind the line and worked as an engineer there. I was still quite depressed but somewhat better than the days at the hospital. I have something to work with. My brother requested some higher ups to move to my camp and he succeeded. I talked to my brother regularly after that. He was constantly telling me not to lose hope and he would find a way to fix my leg after the war. Glad that we both did.

Without worry about fighting and our side was winning, I drown myself in work. It occupied the mind, leaving little room for moping and sorrow. When I’m out of work, I spent time studying for my Doctor degree there. It was the thing I wanted to do when the war was over. I got a medal for bravery after the war, for that one moment with the machine gun. Thanks to that, despite moving around with a wheelchair, no one ever looks down on me. And my parents were all proud of me and my brother, until they day they parted Essal. We have fulfilled our duties. As for my platoon.” He sighed again. “They were among those that made the final push to victory. But as you might have figured out, the Weavile didn’t make it.” Doc touched the corner of his natural eye after that statement. “The part that saddens me the most is that he passed away on the day of victory. The time when everyone was celebrating and see the result of all that fighting come to fruition. Peace at last.” He sighed, “However, the cost of his life and much more made the victory feel, not quite whole. But well, nothing is perfect. I tried telling myself that.” He drew a long breath.

“After all that was over, I started to go on with my life. I got my degree in Engineering and worked for a newly founded tech company named Genesis. During that time I was developing the nanobots, the link between Pokémon and machine. Took me much longer than expected to finish it.” He took a sip of the drink.” And the reason why I was behind schedule, bothered me greatly. So I have a little investigation and discovered that my mind was weak and inefficient.”

“How? You are one of the greatest minds the company ever has.” Axel said.

“At the time, I believed I could do much more and I blamed the thought of the past for slowing me down. Or at least contributed to slowing me down. I couldn’t let it go. Some parts of the war were too impactful to forget naturally. Despite a decade or more have passed, the images from the Sunset war were still there. It leaves a mark in my mind. A mark that no amount of medication could erase. Pretty much what Catherine was mentioning earlier. Every night, I couldn’t rest as the images keep coming back. They affected me in many ways. The most noticeable were the fact that my concentration levels were plummeted as the years go by. And the dream about the images was getting longer and more, horrid. It affects my work and that was unacceptable. How could I change the world when the biggest barrier is my own past?

At one point I tried throwing away the related objects. I tried to burn the cards but the images of the Weavile came back both good and bad times. And I failed to destroy it.  Every time I look at the cards, it’s, it’s.”

“Feel like a debt that you can never pay off,” Catherine said.

“Yes. So I locked it away but didn’t do much help, for one thing, was still remain. Every time I look down at my leg or struggle to place myself on the bed, I remember that day. And that day force me to remember everything else. And since my disappeared legs would follow me for the rest of my life, I needed a new way to cope. I could not let grieve take over me anymore. So I used the nanobot on myself and reprogramed my mind in a literal sense. Turning the meaning behind the cards and the medal into mere personal items in my inventory and left the in a corner. And for good measure, I loaded new and better ideas and beliefs in my head. Those that scientifically proven to be beneficial. And I live on with my new programs.’ He stopped there for a drink. He drank the entire glass in one go. I wonder, was it a lie that I have been telling myself all these years? Or simply a mean to overcome obstacles? Forcing yourself to pass through it without too much hardship.”

“I…Donot know,” Rick said.

“Me too.” Catherine agreed.

“I’m in no position to say.”

“I see, a challenging question indeed, even I can’t answer it. Recently when I dug up my digital archive, I found these the cards and the medal. Got curious about them afterward. For I have never remembered receiving these but I somehow know how to play the cards. A mistake in reprogramming, as I considered rules of the game to be knowledge.”

A realization hit Catherine. “Wait. So that’s mean.”

“Yes, Catherine. I deliberately suggested the Poker game and set this “sharing stories” thing up, so that I could get you to help me triggered some memory response. As I failed to do it on my own. That’s why the request seems off. I am not a trained actor or a politician, I’m an engineer. It hard for me to come up with a convincing statement. I’m sorry, for trying to use you for my own curiosity. You must feel like being cheated.”

Catherine said, “No, Doc, I’m the one that should be sorry.”

“Don’t. It’s all me.’ He rubbed the corner of his eye once more, this time, linger on a bit. “There is no reason to be sorry about that. I dragged you in.”

“I know that but, it’s for doubting you and trying to screw with your head in the beginning.”

“You didn’t know. It’s not your fault.”

“Yeah, but after hearing your memory, I just feel wrong. I was treating this like some kind of game, prying it out like no big deal.”

“The nature of these memories must have you feel that way. Seeing like this, make me regret my decision.”

“No, don’t. I wanted to hear and was not ready for what I might have. You didn’t even know the memory at that point so how could you anticipate that?”

Axel said, “Wow, didn’t expect that coming from you, Catherine.”

“Of course, I’m not a fucking emotionless asshole.”

“I’m not bad mouthing it, Catherine. And Doc, I also have some fault in this one too. I did fuel the fire.”

“I truly appreciate your understanding Catherine, Axel. Both are forgiven as long as you forgive me.”

Both nodded at the same time.

“Good, now let not dig into the old wound and let’s move on from this, experience.” Doc exhaled. “Maybe this was meant to test if I truly believe what my new programs stand for.”

“Your programs stand for what?”

“You can never run away from your past and its impacts. Instead, accept its existence, embrace it and learn from it. But never let it consume you. Funny how I did the opposite for more than a decade and the reason why I believe it because I programmed myself that way.”

“But, do you still believe in it? After remembering all.”

Doc took a while to think. But after a deep breath, he said. “I’m not quite sure. I admit the war brought honor and respect to my family and myself. But it also brought suffering, loss of life and well, body parts. I shall acknowledge its existence for it had shaped me into the Pokémon I am today, that’s my way to look at it for now. But from the experience I got, I do wish the outcomes were different. I wished there was no war, to begin with. No war, no victory, no lost and suffering. Overall, the programs I had put in my head still stand true. Though a few points were off and would need adjustments. But I think I am in a better position than myself in the past. I will keep the memories this time.”

“Maybe all that weren’t a lie. Maybe that was a lesson just need to be tested.” Axel said.

“That makes no logical sense whatsoever. But it feels all right.”

“Does it feel any better? After finally letting it all out and face it.” Rick said.

“I cannot deny. Feel like I have deleted a blockage in my system. I don’t know if that was within my organic or nanobot part of the brain but, it’s no longer there. I guess I should thank everyone for listening and helping me remember. It means a lot to me.”

“Of course, we are your teammate after all,” Axel said.

“Didn’t expect any of this. But you can expect us to be there for you.” Rick added.

“What they said, I’m not that good with sentimental shit.”

“Oh, sorry, if all that sentimental statements made me lose badass points in your eyes.”

“Doc remember, whatever the hell you do, in my eye, you are a god damn badass,” Rick said and saluted him. He then picked up the glass of drink. “To the oldest badass on Essal.”

Axel said. “You could have picked a better line. But to the oldest badass on Essal.” Axel and Catherine followed suit and drank it.

“Oh, please everyone. This is unnecessary, but I’ll take it anyway.”

The finished the drink, they stopped doing anything for a brief moment, breathed and stared at the ceiling together.

“Damn, things just took a darker turn quite fast huh?”

“Yeah, that was something alright.”

“So should we keep playing, I mean. You got what you need.” Axel said.

Doc returned to the original pose. “Well, I don’t think so. We should finish what we started.”

Rick had a peek at Doc’s chips. “You just said that because you have the highest sum right now.”

“Maybe.”

“Oh shit, I didn’t even notice. I gotta get some of that.”

The machine prepared for the next turn.

“But that was pretty epic. And man, looking back. I wish I could do something like you did, Doc.”

“Well you can, just don’t cut off your legs in an explosion.”

“Haha, I’m not a dumbass, you know. I mean earn respect and serve something great.”

“Well, you have it right now. We all do. We are the Foundation, the well foundation of the new Essal. Every worker here respects and trust us.”

“Yeah, but you were a war hero and I’m just, Rick.”

“Don’t. I don’t recommend it. The price for that respect was the suffering that I wish no other Pokémon have to go through.”

“Don’t be offended or anything, but I willing to take any price just to have some of those respect.”

“And I respect you just for being Rick. Shouldn’t that be enough?”

“Yeah, but still, I don’t have any impressive achievements to show for.”

“Hm, don’t be too sure. Survived and made your way to the Foundation is an achievement of its own. You made a transition of a bloodlust bandit to a respectable citizen. Well, technically we are all refugees by international laws but better than bandit status regardless.”

“You were a bandit? That’s new, but somehow expected.” Axel asked.

“Yeah, those were some dark times.”

“So that’s mean you have committed some kind of fucked up crime to end up there? Should I be worried?” Catherine said, half joking about it.

“Okay, everyone calms down. Before saying anything else, I did committed crime, lots. But you know, it was not like what you may think, eh, how do I say it without rambling on?”

“Quantity over quality. He did a lot of crimes but nothing too shocking.”

“Yeah just vandalism, destruction of public properties-two buildings and several cars, took part in a, dozens of riots, grand thief, robbery, kidnap-I was tricked, I thought it was a date; profanity, public indecency and piracy.”

“How did you destroy two buildings? And how is that not shocking?” Axel said.

“Well in one riot I got creative and stole a butt load of propane tanks, filled up a truck with them and rammed it into a building that was falling apart during the riot. And well, those buildings were scheduled for demolition anyway so, yeah.”

Catherine squinted one of her eyes. “And what about piracy? I thought pirates only exist in the old days. Really old days.”

“Not that kind of pirates. Digital stuff. I downloaded several albums from for shared sites. Without paying.”

“The fuck?”

“E. I. N. related things. It was a big deal back then. But now it is an old dead joke.” Axel commented on it while spinning a card on the table with his vine.

“Okay. But why did you pick that kind of life, Rick? You seem like a decent guy.”

“If I were living in this base my whole life, I would be the same Rick through and through. But back then, things were different. Imagine a kid growing up without a mother, and lived in a slum neighborhood that basically hates him.”

“Oh, that. I see.” Catherine said. _“Where did I heard that kind of story?”_ This question flashed in the back of her head. She felt connected and relatable to Rick somehow.

“And that kid went through all kind of pressure early on in life. Kept being talked behind his back, reminding him that he is different and never belong, being pointed at, being beaten up for unclear reasons and everyone around him just let it happen and refused to help. That and the only family member he got were lost at the age of thirteen.”

“Why did they hate you? How can they just hate someone in your position?”

“Like you said Catherine, they were assholes. So I never got the chance to ask.” Rick winked, a gesture which Catherine didn’t know how to respond to. But she knew what he meant by it.

“And as he grows up, he would soon break. The situation gave him two options, kill himself or take revenge at the god damn society. He was young, stupid and desperate so he picked the latter. Should I stop using the third person, it’s getting personal.”

“Yes. Yes, you should definitely do that.” Doc said.

“As you might have guessed, I committed crimes. Lots of them. Some were to have food on the table some, ehffff for other reasons that I’m not proud of. I went on like that for several years until I was caught for the last time and finally got kicked out. After that, I wandered the Outland, lost my way. You know, just walked forward. And death seems tempting somehow. In the first few days, I tried to hang myself but no god damn tree around were tall and strong enough for me. And dying of starvation is such a painful idea.” Catherine suddenly felt a chill down her spine. She began to shake, slightly. Rick’s words made her felt nostalgic, in a twisted way.

“But after a long time, I understood something. In the Outland, no one cares if you are a freak or a criminal. If you are powerful, you’ll live. And in a longest of time, I felt like I belong there, to be among monsters. If that was the case, I was going to be the strongest monster of all. You can see why right, Catherine?”

“To some extent. But I only got one month and one bullet that I was too chicken shit to fire on my head. Only got a few feral kills so I didn’t know much about being a monster of my own. You, something told me that things might be much worse.”

“Yes. Half a year, I spent wandering, plundering and robbing as I walked. And soon I found myself become a bandit. It seems like the most suitable path to take at the time since I was a criminal after all. Looking back, I hate it but.”

“Can’t change it.”

“Yeah but I made the best out of it. Thanks to my badassery.”

“Is that a word?” Axel said.

“I don’t know the bandits keep tossing it around so I think so. But thanks to that, I soon got recognized as the descendent of Giratina and the Lord of the Flame. After busted a slave trade in my path and rescued a few clingy folks, I got my own clan-namely Hellfire. Gotta admit, it was pretty cheesy but at the same time kinda cool to be called Bandit Lord. Like one of the edgy antihero on TV. Years later I realized just how stupid that sound.”

“Of course, everyone has been seeing this apocalyptic theme for over five decades. They grew comfortable and bored of it.” Axel said and withdrew his cards.

“Being a bandit is not exactly a silver lining, but hey I was the toughest guy around and everybody was worshiping me. I’m serious. I got food and ladies. Well, the ladies are not exactly magazine models but hey, I’m not a magazine model so can’t complain. It was all good and well.”

“Until. There is always an “until” in this kind of tales.” Axel said.

“Yes, until one day, a lone bandit came. He didn’t introduce his name. He just crashed the god damn gate and yelled some random crap. He was some sick and disgusting creature, and that coming from me. He also had some crazy ass powers too. Used it to slaughter my clan without remorse. He spared no one, well he spared one, me.”

“Oh shit. That got fucked up real fast.” Catherine then remembered something Rick had said.

“I fought him and got the crap beaten out of me, nearly got killed in the process. He said the idea of someone suffering a slow death, please him. In my dying breath, I asked why he just said: “You will never understand”. And left me to rot at the place.”

“”You will never understand.” What is that supposed to mean?” Axel said.

“Could be insanity. A pretty common thing among bandits.”

“Are you sure he was not one of your rival clan?”

“If he was, then he wouldn’t dare set foot in my camp. Don’t know much about him or what kind of crap hole he came from, just that he was an Infernape with an Agnian accent.”

“Oh, you are referring to Abel?”

“Abel?”

“Yes, his encounter was the first time we met. Don’t you remember?”

“Oh, crap, yeah it was, I guess I can say I was similar to you. At some point, there were things that were, too painful that I wish for nothing but to forget them.”

“I understand. The aftermath was very a disturbing site to look at. It made me baffle at the cruelty of a single Pokémon. The fact that he killed a few of our agents just made his image unredeemable.”

“He killed some of us?”

“Yes. It was a long time ago, weapons were less advanced and the barrier would go out after one shot. It was not as ideal as now. But regardless of what the equipment was, that Infernape were bad news. Besides the agents and Rick’s clan, he also demolished two of our colonies. So all around, not a nice fellow. And the powers he possessed, I don’t quite know. Those power were something I have ever seen before. Something alien. Never got a chance to study him.”

“Alien? What do you think of it?” Axel turned to Catherine who was staring blankly at her cards. “Catherine, hello, Catherine?”

“Huh? What?”

“What’s wrong? You were spacing out for a bit there.”

“Yeah, I just getting tired out for some reason.”

“The imaginary image of Abel?”

“Maybe. So, did you managed to catch him afterward?”

Doc said, “No, I killed him.” That line made a crashing sound go off in Catherine’s head. ‘He gave me no choice.”

Rick said, “Don’t you mean both of us? As I saved your life from his clutches before you could do that.”

“Yes, it was a team effort. But for the record, I still hold the most credit, as I delivered the killing blow and saved your life way before that.”

“Yeah. If you hadn’t come before I slipped away, who know what might have happened?”

“An agent saved a bandit. I can only imagine the awkwardness when both of you first met.”

“Not that bad, right Doc.”

“Yes, it was civil. I was tracking Abel at the time and soon I came across the camp. Found Rick on the gate. He was impaled one of the spikes. Looked rather dead but his chest was still moving, so I helped him. Hoping to get some information.”

“Doc used all his medication on me, pull me right back from the dead. Appreciate that.”

“You’re welcome.”

“But one thing that I don’t appreciate is that you were pointing a gun at me when I came to.”

“You looked and were a bandit at the time. I have to do it, no time for egg carrying you. Just standard procedures for bandits.”

“Standard procedures? Wait if you treat bandits like that then how do you know if they want to reform? You know like that speech about second chances and what not.” Catherine asked.

“If they do, they will turn themselves in. And besides, we don’t shoot first and ask questions later. We subdue, ask questions and then decided we should shoot or not. But even that we still got to be careful. They might take advantage and turn back on us.”

“Kinda disturbing if you ask me.”

Rick said, “At this age and time, can ya blame him? Still, that was uncool.”

“You know what is uncool? Recklessness that cause you a heart.” Doc tapped his chest.

“Oh damn it, you have to remind me of that.”

“I have a program remind that to me every time I meet someone new, all the time. You must share my pain.”

“So what happened after that?”

“Well, Doc started by…”

Rick woke up and found himself sitting upright, facing away from the carnage left behind by the Infernape bandit. He could not feel his hand as all. He tried to move them, but something was gluing them together behind his back. He looked down at his chest; there were red smears on his scrap metal armor. In the center, a hole had cut a chunk away from his clan’s flame emblem.

“Good, you are awake.” Doc’s voice came to his right. He turned his head and saw the barrel of the submachine gun pointed at him. Suddenly, a flash of laser to his eye made him flinched.

“Sorry, let me divert that away.” Doc commanded his turret to lower its laser sight.

“What the fuck? Who are you?”

“I’m sorry I cannot tell you my name. The Foundation procedures don’t allow it. Unless I’m planning to kill you, which I will not do.”

“Why? Aren’t you some kind of government black ops? I know your kind. You kill anything that looks like a bandit.”

“I’m don’t belong to any government. Besides, nurse you back to health and then kill you is rather pointless, isn’t it?”

“You what?”

“I hate repeating myself, so I won’t. You think that spike would automatically come off and the gaping hole is just going to heal itself.’

“Yes it would, but not this fast. And why did you help me?”

“See, I was tracking a bandit named Abel, Infernape, Agnian. I predicted that he might end up here. But from the look of things. I was rather late. I saw children and female bodies in there along with bandits. I rather  conflict but I must say. I’m sorry for your loss.”

Rick look downed at the cracked ground. “I don’t need your brand of pity.”

“Not giving any, wasting too much time already. I’ll give you a chance to grief later on. But now I have to ask some questions. That is my “why”. Do you know where Abel is heading to?”

“I know, but you must take me with you.”

“Pardon?”

“You heard me. Take me with you. I’ll show you where he is and I’m gonna rip his spine through his asshole for what he did to my clan.”

“That image was unnecessary. But I expect that from all bandits, anyway. However, your request? I can’t allow that. This is a serious mission, cannot let your personal vengeance get in between.”

“What, cause I’m a bandit?”

“Yes, and since he defeated you, so what make you think can win?”

“What about you? You just an old fart with metal stuck in his flesh.”

“I have a team of agents to back me up. I think we can kill him. So I take this as an “I won’t tell you”, isn’t it?’

“Fuck yeah, that’s right.”

“Okay, then I got to use the other solution.” Doc activated his comm device. “Brother, found anything?” He asked.

“Nothing, so far. My vehicle broke down, halfway through the desert.”

“Hm, minor setback, don’t go anywhere. I will see you later, brother. I have an uncooperative witness right here. Going to need your truth serum.”

“Understood. And be careful. I’m tired of, patching you up.”

Doc changed the channel. “Gwendolyn, where is your location?”

“I’m about a few miles away from our starting point. Sorry, but a few “witnesses” were about to show me where Abel might be. Turned out they were just trying to trick and make me their wife. It was quite flattering considering my age. But it doesn’t matter, they are dead now. So you must have found something, I will get to you this instant.”

“Don’t get to Markov instead. We’ll meet there halfway.”

“Understood. Doctor.”

Doc shut off the comm and looked back at Rick.

“What are you going to do to me?”

“Well, I’ll take you with me. Reconsider telling me the location?”

“Yes.”

“But I’m still not going to let you kill him.”

“Aw, too fucking bad. No.”

“Heh. Doesn’t matter. My brother’s truth serum can help me with that. Now, let’s go, we are wasting daylight.”

Doc summoned an upper body humanoid robot that was levitating on 4 separate rocket thrusters. Its arm grabbed Rick and carried him to the Genesis car nearby.

“Hey, hand off.”

“It’s pointless. The mech only listens to my commands.” Doc said before typed in the command to throw Rick to the back seats. A few button press on his mechanical arm and strings of blue wires sprang from the seats and locked him up with several restraints. Doc then got behind the wheel and closed the front of the car. Seconds later, he began to drive, a GPS system led the way.

After a failed attempt to wiggle himself out, Rick sighed in defeat and asked. “Why are you chasing after this guy?”

“It’s confidential. Let’s just say he had just killed a lot of important Pokémon and needed to be exterminated.”

“So he had killed more than just my clan.”

“Sadly, yes.”

“Then why don’t you let me kill him?”

“I told you and I hate repeating myself. The procedures won’t allow it.”

“Fuck the procedures, my clan had just been killed in front of my eyes.”

“Call me heartless for I have a nuclear reactor in where it was, but it doesn’t make you that special. We all lose someone in this world, but that is no excuse. I could use your need for vengeance and turned you into a decoy. While Abel was too busy fighting you, I could finish him and you off in an extremely efficient way. But that is irresponsible and immoral, I won’t do it, plus the procedures won’t allow it.”

“Why do you care?’”

“I just don’t care. But the procedures do, and I don’t want to explain the procedures to you as they are classified.”

“So after the serum thingy, what are going to do to me?”

“It depends on the result afterward.”

“What is it anyway?”

“It’s nothing too frightening. The truth serum is just a chemical that made you answer whatever we ask truthfully. If your crimes are not too grueling then well. Eh, the results may variate.”

“You are going to kill me aren’t you?”

“No, how many time do I need to say that. We are not cut throat businessmans. We take everything into consideration. If your own past were, let say nice enough, I’ll take you to a reform colony. It’s food, sunlight, shelter, and exercise for free. How about that?”

“I think I’ll pass.”

“Ah, already know that you have no chance huh, that is very unfortu...”

That moment, an incredibly powerful force hit the side of the car and tumbled it. The roof of the car hit Rick in the head and knocked him out.

Moments later, Rick’s adrenaline had made him quickly recovered from the sudden impact and regained consciousness. Rick found the view from the windshield was upside down and the restraints on him were gone. He moved the chairs aside and crawled to the control console beside the wheel. He had a look to the left and found Doc’s empty seat. On the wheel in front of it were a note that said: ”Today’s your lucky day, flee.” Rick then heard a faint voice of Doc came from the outside of the car. “Gwendolyn, change in plan, you’ll get Markov and both get to me this instant. I think I have found Abel.”

Outside, in front of Doc, a tall Infernape was floating on air, surrounding him were a red dark aura cloud. In his hands were holding two balls of flame. The Pokémon was wearing what looked like a black hooded ceremony robe. Behind his back were bat-like wings made from the aura.

(“I just remember one funny thing. The texture of his aura looked rather similar to Catherine’s recent technique. But differ in color and intensity. Strange isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I don’t remember it that way. Your memory must be faulty again dude.” Rick said, tried to cover Catherine.

“Yes, I mean, I can’t even remember the name of a special comrade. Let’s alone that.” Catherine had a drop of sweat ran down her back at that line.)

“Are you Abel?” Doc asked.

“That’s my vessel name. It’s bear no weight to me, anymore.” He said in a deep and distorted voice.

“No, I just want the recording of you stating your name so I could give it to my insurance company. And you own me 400000 credits for the car.”

“Hahahaha. Do you have any idea who you were talking to?”

“I thought you were Abel, but you denied it, so you must be a nobody.” Doc then summoned his cannon.

The Infernape glared at him. ‘”You have just sealed your fate, fool.”

“Not until you pay for my vehicle’s insurance.”

“Funny man. I’ll kill you slowly and-Agh.”

Doc fired a sonic blast from his cannon, sent the Pokémon crashing to the ground below. ‘Too slow.’ Doc said.

The Infenape shook the dirt off of him and got up. “Arghghhhh. You will pay for that.” The Infernape charged up the flame in his hand and flung it at Doc who avoided the attack with his rocket-propelled legs.

(“Doc, why in the fuck, do all the back stories lead to your badass moments?”

“It was what happen. Saying otherwise would be lying.”

“Is it for real, Rick?”

“Pretty much it. That is what I heard from the car, but don’t know about the rockets part, though. What I do know is…”)

Doc had a quick look back and saw the ball of flame exploded on the mountain behind him. Under the explosion was the car. Beside its open door was a hole in the ground. Didn’t wish to let his guard down, Doc quickly turned back to the Infernape. He was still on the ground, this time running to Doc. Doc then fired another sonic blast down at the Infernape, who dashed away from the attack with ease. The Infernape crouched down and charge up fire under his feet. He flapped the aura pair of wings and released the fire under his feet, from there he shot up.

Doc changed a setting on his gun and took aim. ‘That’s better.’ He said before pulling the trigger. The cannon launched a charged up shot to the Infernape face and slammed him to the ground with a deafening sound. The force of this was much more powerful than the last, indicated by the fact that Abel was bury in a large and perfectly round dent on the ground. The Inferape tried to get up but two bulky hands burst from below and grabbed him tight. The hands the pulled him deeper to the ground, left only the head and torso exposed. Doc then charged up the laser in his palm and fired at the Infernape in the chest. The energy from the laser burned the ceremony robe, ate up the aura and the skin on the Pokémon’s chest. With power like that, it was impossible for Abel to keep his mouth shut. He screamed, not for his broken skin only, but for his broken pride as well. Somehow, an old and broken Pokémon managed to cause this phenomenal amount of pain to him. Abel or what inside of him wouldn’t accept it. The rage within him grew as the laser kept drilling in his body.

Once the power core in Doc’s arm ran out, the laser stopped. His mechanical arm seized lifting itself up and dragged Doc with down with it. The rockets on his feet burned weaker as he slowly descended. Doc quickly grabbed a spare power cell strapped on his belt and replaced the one on his arm with it. All in a quick six steps process. 

The Infernape blasted his dark aura around him, fanning the arms away from him. He then fired an orb upward, making Doc dodged it by got down on the ground immediately. Abel then turned around and dug his hands in the ground. He grabbed and pulled Rick from underneath by the neck. Saw the Emboar once again, he said.

“You again? Why don’t you just give up and die?” Rick tried punching him, but the aura around him moved and caught Rick's arms and held it in place. Before he could finished Rick with a neck snap. Doc blasted another laser at Abel’s back, drilled another hole on the Infernape body. Abel stood still even after the attack was finished. “That is going to the last thing you would ever do.”  He said and tossed Rick to the side. In a snap, he turned around and instantly moved all the aura to his arm, all while Doc was loading the last power cell into his own. Launched himself toward Doc, he raised his aura infused fist, aiming straight for Doc’s face. Once the power core was in. Doc summoned the torso robot for earlier and commanded it to intercept with a punch. It raised its own metallic fist without hesitation and prepared for the blow. Their fists collided in an explosive punch, shot out cracking sound of bones and metal.

But in the end, the robot’s arm immediately fell apart under the impact. Broke all the way to the shoulder. Abel then dug his other hand in the robot’s chest and pulled out a round core. Dropped the core, he used both his hands to tear the robot in half. Unfazed by the destruction of his creation, Doc said “Watch out.” And summoned a turret.

The Infernape was confused at that line until he saw the outer shell of the removed core was burning red. Before he could respond, the power core exploded, sent away an intense heat wave that melted the sands below into glass and concealed the Infernape in a flash of white light. 

Let out a drunken voice. Abel slowly got up from the glass ground. “You think that could stop me?” When his eyes reclaimed their vision from the flash, a barrage of machine gun fire from Doc turret hit him, scrapped out more pieces of his skin and took the last shred of his robe. The aura quickly gathered around him expanded to cover his body. It then turned into metal like substance and it acted as his armor, nullified the effect of the bullets. He charged an aura fireball and launched it at the turret, completely destroyed it. The Infernape then flew to Doc with a maddening look on his face.

“Redundant emergency shields.” Doc said before activated three layers of orange barrier around at once. The Infernape was bounced back because of the barrier. His armor was broken around the places that made contact. Grunted in frustration, Abel got up and put all his aura to his left arm. To the point that it looked twice as big. He then used it and constantly sending punches to the barrier.

‘Re…….sting o….tal st….’ Doc whispered.

The Infernape channeled more aura and covered his hand in a thicker layer. With that, he pierced through the first barrier with a single punch. He dipped his hand into the next barrier and went in deeper and deeper. Once his hand was inches away from Doc’s neck. He said. “Keep saying those prayers. They won’t save you.”

Rick grabbed the Infernape by that arm and pulled him back out, got his hand away from Doc’s barrier. Rick then twisted the Pokémon arm, making him cried out in pain and proceed to punch him repeatedly in the gut, near the circle mark left by Doc’s laser. The Infernape retaliated by grabbing Rick’s arm with his tail, then latched on Rick’s armor with his other arm and sprouted his aura wings. Abel abruptly flew up with Rick. Rick activated his The Gate state, engulfed his head in flame. However, that can no longer surprise the Infernape anymore. Before Rick could do anything, Abel dropped him to the ground.

Rick landed on his back. He soon got on his feet and slammed his fist on the ground, cracked it. He dug his hand in between the cracks and picked up a large slab of stone from underneath. Rick then spun around, gaining momentum.

Abel raised his hands in the sky and summoned a large aura fireball. He then flew down with the aura ball in his left hand. Rick threw the slab right at Abel, who did not try to dodge but instead went forward and shattered it. The size of the fireball in his hand was greatly reduced. Rick shot his own fireball at him but it was useless as Abel continued to move forward.

“OH SHIT!” Rick yelled when Abel’s fist behind the fireball punched Rick’s armor. A little below the hole in Rick’s chest. The punch melted the metal and directly damaged Rick’s flesh. Despite the flame in his The Gate, state had numbed some parts of him, it was extremely painful to Rick. Rick then grabbed the arm. It was still phenomenally hot, even by Rick standard. Bit his teeth and stomped his foot, Rick forced Abel to a full stop. With rapid movements, Rick then moved his feet and spun with Abel, rotations after rotations. “SPIN TO WIN, BITCH.” He said when his spinning was fast enough to put out the outer part of his flame beard. All the sudden, Rick let go of the arm and threw Abel out.

Skidded on the sandy ground for a few hundred meters, Abel adjusted and regained a firm stance on his feet.  He then charged toward Rick blindly. Both soon collided and traded blows afterward. However, it was not long before Rick was losing the bargain of punches. Abel was much better than Rick in any which way, speed, strength, and reflex. But Rick refused to accept it, trying to channel his rage and the images of his fallen clan members into his fist. He gave it his all in one last ear-splitting war cry. But it would take more than just rage for Rick to turn the tide around, much more.

Had enough of the duel, Abel punched Rick in the neck, choked him, and then finished off with a barrage of punched in Rick’s chest, constantly focusing on the area around the hole. The flame on Rick’s head grew weaker after each hit.

Doc charged up his hand once gain. This time carefully took aim, he only had one shot left. Abel’s head and Rick were constantly in line with each other. Every time he thought he had them separate, they backed again before the laser could be fully charged. The computer in Doc’s brain constantly recalculated, looking for another solution but the results are always the same. In any which way, the chance for Rick to survive is low and his survival was not a priority. It is would be much more ideal to kill both in that position.

Abel then lifted Rick up and punched him one last time in the hole made by the spike. Rick yelled in absolute agony before the flame on his head die out. When Rick was out cold, Abel casually dropped him on the ground.

Saw the chance in the situation, Doc charged and shot a larger laser at the Infernape, right on the side of his head. Took out a chunk of the fire type cheek, strip the flesh all the way to the bone. Abel held his face and shouted. “DAMN YOU!!! That’s it, I had it with you. I will kill you this time and all your Foundation friends, once and for all.” Seeing Doc’s arm was dropped from energy depletion and he was limping backward, Abel snickered and slowly walked to him instead of running. Doc fell on the ground in a panic. He frantically searched his belt and picked up a laser pointer. He then aimed the beam at the Infernape’s head, right on the forehead.

“You think that little toy is going to work on me?”

“No. But an orbital strike sure does.”

“What?”

Before long, a large red beam came from above and caught the Infernape in the middle. The light vaporized him almost instantly before he even got the chance to notice it.’

(“Hey, what the fuck? If we have orbital strikes then why don’t we abuse that shit and kill the bandits quicker?”

“You see Catherine, a few years back Genesis notice that the use of it put a lot of strain on Essal’s already thin and radiation infested ozone layer. Lucious is always serious about the states of the planet so he disabled and destroyed them all.”

“What the fuck is an ozone?”

Rick said. “Basically an invisible barrier around the planet that makes sure the sunlight don’t grill our asses. Common knowledge.”

“It’s not common if I don’t know about it.”

“Consider you learn something today. So after that, I slowly came to, again and expressed my amazement with some level of dignity.”)

“Holy mother of fuck! That was friggin epic. You just literally smoked him.” Rick said and spat out a good chunk of blood and saliva. His hand was on the hole and his feet were struggling to lift him up.

“Technically, it was, no I’m refuse to be that kind of Pokémon. Huh? What am I saying? I am that kind of Pokémon. Technically I disintegrated him. Pulled him apart, molecule by molecule.”

“That is fucking…” He coughed out some more blood. “Awesome.”

“Complements for later, worry about internal bleeding, now.”

Rick approached Doc in a staggered stage. He offered Doc a hand to help the Alakazam standing up. “Are you okay? That was fucking close.”

“Are you joking? The near disassemble experience made me feel alive more than ever.”

“Ha, that’s one way to look at it.”

“How is the hole in your chest?”

“Frankly, it hurt like no fucking tomorrow. Tell me you guys have some kind of ambulance because I think I’m going to pass out.”

“We do, just be patient. We both should sit down, none of us want or could stand anyway.”

They sat down on the spot and looked at the black burning circle on the ground.

“That could be me right?”

“Yes.”

“But since he is dead, then what are you going to do to me?”

“Well, I was expecting you to run away and not bat an eye, but you chose to stay.”

“Hard to do it when I’m bleeding here.”

“No, I meant before that. I left the note, didn’t I? You chose to stay. Still want that revenge huh?”

“Not anymore.”

“Good, so, feel better?”

“Yes, well, not quite. It just feels empty and underwhelming.”

“That’s revenge 101 for you. It just consists of killing around and most just die, that’s all.”

“Nothing escape you isn’t it?”

“A lot of things had escaped me, including your sarcasm.”

“Eh, was that a good. Oh, screw it, hey, I want to ask you something.”

“Go ahead, this is the best chance you got.”

“So, what are you guys?”

“We are just a band of mercenary employed by a Pokémon billionaire with the goal of fixing Essal. By both violent and none violent means. Crazy isn’t it?”

“Well, if a hobo told me that then yes. But with a guy that just whipped out a laser pointer that points things into oblivion, no.”

“By the tone of your voice. Do you want to join in? Wish to redeem youself?’

“Yes, no. Honestly, more like, I don’t know where to go now. My clan is gone. I don’t know what to do anymore, besides being a bandit. And since I just save your life and all, I was thinking if you could help me.”

“Favors? I thought revived you and made the decision of not killing you along with Abel is enough. But about your request, yes, it’s possible for you to join us. But there will be a lot of truth serum shots in the future. That means possible high school secrets being revealed to a bunch of strangers and doctors. And there will be a lot of regulations and paperwork since you, you are a bandit and all. And to join us you need to prove yourself worthy in combat.”

“Combat? If not for me you would have been dead.”

“Already noted that several minutes ago.”

“As for the paperwork. Look like I don’t have other choices.”

“You have but just not as pleasant. And the Foundation that's us, is the best option you can have right now. I will go into details when my arm is back online. Oh, how rude of me, I need to introduce myself then. I’m Doctor Dylatov Voynich, for easier references call me Doc. Everyone does. Engineer, not to be confused with a medic.”

“You gave me your name, are you gonna kill me.”

“No, use your common sense.”

“Okay. I’m Richard Douglas, ehhhh I got nothing after that.” Rick said and shook Doc’s natural arm. Another Genesis made car was then approached them afterward.

“Finally, such terrible timing.”

Back to the present

“Now Rick, that was pretty impressive, wasn’t it.” Axel said.

“Yeah, you are right. Still, can’t believe how things just changed so much in one day.”

Catherine said, “So whenever fell worthless, just remember it.”

“Thanks for the encouraging words Catherine.”

“I’m here for you. You hulking mass of whatever the fuck you are.” Catherine let out a smile. She was glad that things ended in a much more positive note than Doc’s tales. But still, the imaginary image of Abel was still haunting her mind. How to prevent it from happening, was what concern her the most. Suddenly she wanted a distraction more than ever.

Axel looked at his watch. “Hum, only thirty minutes have passed since we started. I thought it was much longer than that.”

“Who know what they say, the heavier the subjects in question, the stronger the gravity field, resulted in time slow down, like a black hole of awkwardness. Hah, they didn’t say it, I say it.”

Catherine made a fake laugh. “Haha, you should be glad that I read the astrophysics book so I kinda get that the joke.”

“Yes. That’s good for you.”

“No kidding about the heaviness. Seriously, after all that, I just feel like playing this anymore. I’ll go all in. Anyone want to take it, go ahead.” Axel said and shoved all his chips in.

“Ohhh, that’s nice.” Rick said.

“Certainly a lovely offer.” Doc said and started shuffled his chips.

Catherine had a looked at Axel rather bored expression and said. “Ah, fuck it, I’ll take it. All in.” Catherine pushed all the chips in the middle.

“Oh damn. That’s not going to end well for one of us.”

“Made that a possible two. I go all in.” Doc did as he announced it.

“Holy Arceus’s balls sack, that’s a lot of god damn credits. I gonna back out. Fold.”

“Yes, this is not going to end well. And I haven’t got the chance to I lay my story, yet. Let’s get this over with.”

All laid their two cards out. Axel got a five and a king, both spade. Catherine got six and nine of heart and Doc had just like Axel except both were clubs. 

“Hum, that’s an interesting development.” Doc said and started pondering.

“Alright, moment of truth.” Axel flipped his other cards. Followed by Rick and Doc. They looked at each other instead of the cards. Each knew that the possible disappointment would be too great if things were to be revealed, slowly. So they waited until all confirmed that their cards were all shown. They then looked down.

“The flying fuck?” She slammed the table upon looking at her pair of nine.

“Son of bitch.” Rick said.

“Hum, looked like I’ll be playing a little longer.” Axel grinned as he stared down his pair of kings. Doc did so with his own pair of kings. Axel extended his vines and swept the chips. “Thank you. But this one won’t contribute to your IOU, Catherine.” The screen on Catherine’s side changed to “insufficient fund” and turned red.

“Wait the minute, I forgot something. Axel, how the hell did you learn to play this game?” Catherine asked.

He kept the grin. “Nothing too epic like you guys, I learned it in an online game, two years back.”

“Oh, ooh. God fucking damn it. Shit, I walked right into it. I should have just shrugged it off.”

“You just fall right into such an obvious bluff, Catherine.” Doc said and claimed his split of the pot.

“Thanks for the fucking reminder.”

“It’s a part of the game, isn’t it? You said it yourself.” Axel said and flipped a chip in the air.

“Yeah, but still. So the whole time you just kept silent and pick a time to strike.”

“It’s not cut and dry like that. Sure I was planning to go easy on you guys. But it was a surprise that Doc asked to share to stories. That one could really get me exposed, and everyone would be cautious around me. If that was the case then what’s the fun in that? No one would want to make a bet, take a risk. So I just wanted to prolong the game and asked Catherine to do it first. And everything else just sort of, fall into place without any interference from me.

Things were going too smooth so why not have some fun with it? All I got to do is lay low and play along with a few questions. Making the game and story flow long enough so everyone has a good time. With that, I wait until my turn of the story and let the game pays out a bit.”

“Ah, very clever.”

Catherine crossed her arm. “Whatever. I’m out of here.” And she stood up, carrying the glass of sweet with her.

“Hey, don’t be mad, here, as a friendly gesture. I will consider this into your IOU. Okay? Since you have extra credit so for this game and all. I hope this doesn’t affect me or you, or any of us. This is a horrible game with the sole purpose is tricking and bluffing the other to pay out for you. I have been playing for so long so I can’t help it. I’m sorry.”

“Nah, I’m not a sore loser. For your information, I lost a shit ton of times before to my uncle. This is nothing. But by fucking god, if you exploit or hide something from me. I’ll make you unable to bite even berries, with my fist.”

Axel said, “Sure, with such a charming way to put it, how can I say no? Here, I cross my heart. Who do think I am? Your uncle? Trust me, still going to be the guy that snipe whoever try to kill you from behind.”

“Good.” She sighed. “Look like I got kicked out too soon. You guys enjoy the rest of the game, I’ll be in my room.”

Doc then said. “Maybe we should stop the game here since we have no chance of winning with Axel.”

“See, this is why I don’t feel like giving you guys a head up. Everybody just kinda left.”

“We certainly won’t do this again. This horrible game had served its purpose. I got a fragment of my memory back. Not a pleasant piece but a rather important one. My selfish mind and curiosity had been satisfied.”

“And I thought, you actually want something fun for us all to do. So much for a bonding experience. Catherine said and got back on her seat.

“Sorry, certain steps must be taken for, some discoveries. We already went through this, so let’s not thinking too much about it.”

“Yeah, it might look that way, but hey, we had fun right?”

“Though at first I did it because I want answers but after a while, I do enjoy the game with you. Especially the part that I win.” Doc said.

“Well, I lost but got a first few wins, so yeah, it was fun while it lasts.”

“Yeah, first time playing this and didn’t get stressed out too much. And it was a nice excuse to go down memory lane. Had a looked back on how far I have come and appreciated what I got right here.” Rick tried to put his hands on Axel and Doc shoulder. Both denied.

“Nah, we can feel the love just fine, Rick.” Axel said.

“That was awkward as fuck.”

“I know but heh, screw it.”

“So, all and all, should we all agree to never play this horrible game again, at least with each other?”

“I don’t know, I kinda like the idea of fighting against the odds. I gonna take back my money someday.”

Axel said, “Challenge accepted, another round?”

“Fuck no, not today. I need some practice.”

“Rick?”

“Well, my common sense said “No” and my Aracadian optimistic mind said “Yes”. So, screw it, let do this sometimes, but lower the buy in.”

“I agree, even if we lost it would be just like accidently dropping money.”

“Doc, no one accidentally drops a thousand credits.”

“Details, details. So. All in favor of doing this horribly exploitable game sometime together in the future?”

“Aye.” All of them said.

“Motion carry. No can you please give me back the cards? You are damaging an important relic of mine. Next time I’ll use some cheap piece from the department store.”

Doc reclaimed the cards and the device in the middle of the table, along with the chips. They remained in their seats afterward, looked at one and another. Rick finished the sweets and broke the silent.

“Sooooo, what should we do now?”

“Don’t know.”

“Yeah, I need to be exhausted to fall asleep tonight. Doc’s drink tube thingy is gonna give me a hard time sleeping.” In the back of her head, she knw that made no sense but she didn’t come up with anything else that cover the: _“I am really concern about what the demonic present within my body will turn me into. And how all of you plan to kill me when that happen.”_

Rick said, “That’s ridiculous.”

“So is the fear of clowns. How can you be afraid of them?”

“Hey, those things are scary as hell…Not that I’m afraid of them, but have you seen “That”?”

“Where?” Catherine turned behind her.

“No, I mean “That”.”

“Okay but the fuck is that?”

“Catherine “That” is the name of a movie or rather miniseries. It is about a killer clown haunting a group of small children.” Rick explained.

“Shit told you guys not to confuse me with your references. And that is fucking weird.”

“Girl, you gotta be consistent. You seem to know quite a lot, I thought you might know.”

“I don’t know shit about movies. Just the fact that they are books for Pokémon who are too lazy to read. And the only way I know about the outside is through books. Maybe I should do some catching up sometimes.”

“Why not now? Rick, you have a lot of movies, don’t you? Why not bring them out here and we will watch them together. Spent the rest of the night enrich our metal library instead of gamble.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“Yeah, you are right, why the fuck not? Maybe I’ll grow bored and sleep halfway in.”

“Well, sure, but what should we watch tonight then?” Rick asked.

“What do you have in mind? And Mercy, do you wish to join us on this? Don’t wish to make you feel like the odd one out.”

Mercy then approached them. “That depend on a lot of things, dear. It would be nice to sit down with everyone and enjoy something together. So yes, I will join in as long as everyone agrees on one movie. Pardon me, but I love to see something with a little depth. Don’t need any fancy academy award winning actors or actresses. Just something that makes you think.’

Axel said, “Well, as a semi cinephile. How about some classic like “An Oran Clockwork”.”

“I don’t think so. Today story time is heavy enough, try something else.” Rick said.

“What do you got in that movie?” Catherine asked.

“Well, murder, anarchy, nudity, but most importantly subtle or blunt social statements.” Rick said while counting the tips of his claws.

“Yeah, let’s skip that. And ew, Axel, are you sure you are not some kind of sicko?”

“I don’t watch it for the violent or nudity. I got for the plot, the messages, things that give me and a few Pokémon with too much time on their hand something to discuss. So Rick, what do you have in mind?”

“Anything goes, as long as it’s not crap and I own none. I’m asking you the question, am I?”

“Doc?”

“Science fiction should be so obvious that it had become a cliché.

“So how about 2101 Odyssey? Super deep or what that hipster guy once told me. But even if you don’t get it, it got awesome visual for you to see, and it’s a sci-fi, not the bull crap jumbo kind but one with some serious thoughts put into it. How that?”

“Are you sure Catherine can understand that? Cause it took near twenty years for it to have a cult.”

“Never know if I never try. And besides, just want something to tired me out and fall asleep.”

“Kay, that settle, and maybe we will watch something else afterward.”

They all got up and picked up the glasses that contain the sweets before the table deconstructed. All besides Rick then got to the sofa in the middle of the room and seated themselves. Catherine sat on the floor. Doc was next to Mercy, while Axel coiled himself on the floor next to Catherine, who pushed him away to the corner of the sofa. Rick came back with a small data drive and plugged it into the TV. He touched the TV screen and adjusted some setting and walked back to the sofa, sitting in between of Doc and Mercy. The TV then turned black and the film began to play.

“Get ready to get your mind blown Catherine.”

“We will see about that.”

And they sat in silent and watched the movie together. Catherine was indeed having a hard time catching up to all the science talk within it. She looked around and planned to ask, but the look of concentration on their faces made her reconsidered it. Did not wish to interrupt them, she tried Rick’s advice, just watch it for the visual. And with that mindset, she started to enjoy the movie. All the lighting, the settings, and the cinematography were incredible. The ending of it was the thing that seemed to bother and confused her the most. When the movie was over, she asked them a dozen of questions regarding it, but their explanations were even harder to follow.

After that, they decided to watch another movie. Rick suggested a rather old movie so that Catherine would have an easier time to follow. He said the movie itself was a timeless comedy and since it was in the early day of cinema so things could not be simpler. Catherine agreed with a yawn and they started watching it. As soon as the movie start, Catherine noticed it was a black and white movie, quite different from the last. It started with a scene of a battle. There were old model tanks and guns so Catherine thought it was an either a Morning or Sunset war setting. There was a few Pokémon of different types gathering around a mortar and launching shells. That left Catherine confused as the whole things looked more like a war movie than a comedy. That was what she thought until she saw how a shell failed to get launched and dropped like a potato down at the ground, there were even a funny sound effect to go with everything. The reaction of the Pokémon around the mortar made Catherine burst out laughing. Rick and Axel just snickered a bit, for both had seen this movie hundreds of times. And they sat through the two hours movie together. The speech at the end from the main character about war, dictators, and freedom nearly brought Catherine and the others to tear. That speech left an impact that made them sat still and kept on watching an empty screen for a while. And that was also when Catherine eyes just couldn’t keep themselves open anymore. She then fell into sleep after they started watching the third movie.

During the third movie, Catherine's head laid on the floor. At that point, they thought that was quite enough for one night. They cleared out the sofa and Axel gently picked Catherine up with his vine and put her on it. And she spent the rest of the night on the sofa for no one wanted to wake her up and know her quarter’s combination code. They returned to their quarters afterward. Only after putting a blanket on Catherine did Mercy return to her own quarter.

Due to Catherine had fallen asleep in an exhausted state, she was not bothered at all by the suggestive images that were passed around during the story time at the Poker table. What she might become, what she had done, she would worry about them in another time. She slept relatively comfortable on that sofa until the next day.

 

* * *

 

Author's notes:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is my first ever story so please forgive any possible mistake in the future and help me fix them.

Thanks again and have a pleasant day.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. They belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. The songs I reference here belongs to their respective artists as well. With that out of the way, please enjoy this piece of fanfiction.

* * *

 

In a long forgotten city.

On the tenth floor of a rundown apartment, two Pokémon were taking refuge in an empty room. One was a pallid Gardevior lying on a torn mattress. She was wearing what the residents of the Outlands would call “slave fashion”. Her face was showing pain but she, herself was too exhausted to express it fully. There was no wound on her, just sickly pale skin.

The other could only be described as a six foot humanoid Pokémon with an Arcanine head. His attire suggested he was not an average Outlander. There were the regular leather jacket and jean but added to them were armor plates on his chest, over his sleeves and shins. The plates themselves were alien both in look and nature. His light brown eyes gazed down upon her. A drop of sweat ran along a small chain around his neck and fell to the floor below.

“You will be okay, I promise.” He said. She didn’t say anything, just nodded with little energy she had. His ears picked up a sound. He jolted up and moved to the window. Then a loud voice echoed through the city’s crumbling concrete walls.

“We know you’re here. Come out and play, motherfuckers!”

(The song "Do the evolution" by Pearl Jam begins to play)

Chesterization proudly presents.

A Pokémon fanfiction

** Genesis **

(Song ends)

 **Chapter 11:** Menoda

Earlier that day, a few miles away from the city, in a large barren field.

Catherine was putting all her effort to force her shovel into the dry hard ground. No matter how much technology had applied on the tool, it was still grueling work for someone her size. The heat and sunlight made it impossible to land a strike in one place twice. And her sweat made it harder to get a firm grip on the cursed thing, causing it to slipping away in the most awkward of times. She let out an angry grunt and threw the tool away. Kicked it to the side and then laid flat on the ground. She started to pant, didn’t at all mind the dirt getting trapped in her hair and the heat from the ground. The scent of decay sneaked its way into her nose. She turned and looked at the pile of mangled body parts of oversized Sandiles with a few extra limbs.

“Give up already?” Rick’s voice was near.

“You know something, Rick.”

“Yeah.”

“When you said blowing off steam by killing ferals just for the hell of it. How come you never mentioned of this?”

“If I do, would you even want to come? And come on! You got to connect the dots. If we kill a large number of ferals, what is going to happen to the bodies? Give a load of virus and bacteria free food? Not a good idea. For the virus can be even more dangerous than the ferals threats themselves.”

“Again. I got it. That was the third time you gave me that.”

“So stop asking the damn question then. Besides, I do most of the digging anyway. If you are tired then just take a break then. It’s lunch time anyway. I’ll get the food ready.” Rick stabbed his shovel at the ground and got to Catherine, helped her got up.

He then got beside a large rock and summoned a traditional griller. He loaded lumps of concentrated alcohol underneath and shot a small ember from his mouth. The fire appeared and immediately grew out of control.

“Son of a bitch. I hate these gods damn things.” He adjusted the fire and proceed to summon an ice box.

“Then why don’t you just use wood?”

“You know the whole ozone and crap. Genesis is very strict about those.”

“Yeah, that’s nice of them. Can you pick a better place for camp?” Catherine sat on the rock.

“Can’t. But you can just use this.” Rick turned around and fabricated a cap. “Catch.”

“The hell?” Said her as she grasped it. She gave a glance. The cap was made from camouflage fabric. The front had “89th Tank Division” and a blue circle with stars emblem sewed to it. She adjusted the back for it to fit her head and wore it. It would at least keep the top of her head from burning under the sun.

“Haha, you look just like the old man, minus the face, hair and pretty much everything else.” He then turned back and opened the ice box.

“The old man? Oh, you mean your grandfather?”

Rick put two large pieces of meat on to the griller. “No, my dad. That’s how we Arcadian call them.”

“Oh, weird. So, eh, how is the food?” She remembered the little talk during the Poker game. She knew Rick’s dad would be the only one family member he had. Curiosity struck her, but she reminded herself of certain boundaries. Boundaries, she did not want anyone to cross. And she would not want to do that on someone else.

“I just put them on. They won’t be ready until later.” He turned the meat. A loud sizzle came from the griller. “Listen to that. Just wait out about fifteen or more minutes and we are good to go.” He then humming a tuneless song while continued turning the meat.

“So, how are you these days? Doing well?” Rick broke the silence.

“Of course, if anything I feel like I’m being spoiled.”

“Things are too easy around the base huh?”

“Yeah, this kind of heat used to be an everyday thing for me. Now, it’s unbearable. Is my skin getting thinner or something?”

“Nah, just a feeling. And I know, happened to me too. That’s why I take you out here. Do some hard work, keeping yourself from going soft.”

“Hum, I’m gonna call bullshit on that.”

“I have a drill, you know. Could have used that, but you didn’t see me use it.”

“Fine, I’ll buy it, thanks.”

“If you don’t feel like doing this, you can try using the gym. A good way to tone your body and put excess energy to good use.”

“Don’t know. I don’t think I need it.” She put the cap to cover her face.

“Just try. It can help you more than just your body. I did that when I first try to control my blood rage.”

She lifted the cap a bit, just enough for her right eye to look. “Yeah, but I don’t think mine can be helped with a little exercise. It’s a mental thing.”

“Oh sorry, I brought it up again, didn’t I?”

“It’s okay. I was about to ask you about it. But from what you said, I doubt you can help me.”

“You could try asking Celeste. She got the whole Asuna therapy thing going on. But aren’t Celestians supposed to be experts on mental training and all that weird wobbly hippy stuff?”

“We do, but, the Councils constantly restricted me from mental training. That’s the source of our power. So their logic is that I should not have more power.”

“Well, that sucks.” He put some seasoning on the meat.   

“I mostly have to learn on my own, or sneak in the Lake of Serenity at night or when no one is watching. So, I’m not an adept in the field.”

“Hum, man, your demonic thing is a whole new territory for me. And I thought I could help you with it.”

“I appreciate the intention, but eh, it’s something I have to figure out for myself. Thanks for asking, though. I could use your help along the way, like that save during the poker game.” She turned away from the heat of the griller, picked a relatively flat spot on the ground and lied down. The cap covered her face.

“You gave me your secret. I keep it. Basic decency.”

“Uh huh.” She closed her eyes and tried to sleep. It took her five to ten seconds to realize it was impossible. She had a thought back at the poker game. A few blinks of an eye and a week had passed since then. A few more blinks and it was a month since she joined in. A lot of things had changed but not to the point Axel made it out to be at first. Maybe she got lucky for having Rick and others as her teammates. Things would probably be different if she ended up with Tammy. She shivered a bit. She had never met her or speak directly to her but thinking about her just made Catherine cringe.

“Are you sleeping?”

“Huh? No, just thinking. Hum, it starts to smell good.”

“Yeah, get a beer from the icebox and we’ll eat these sumbitches.” Catherine took the cue and psychic grabbed a can in the ice box. The outer of the can seemed greasy.

He finished the last steps with the cooking and took out two plates from a compartment of the griller. One was three times bigger than the other. Rick then turned back with the two pieces of meat on each plate. Catherine sat up, opened a can of beer open and drank some. She did not care if it made her lose water, the coolness of the liquid was easing the pain in her throat. Rick sat down on the rock and give the smaller plate to Catherine. She looked at the chunk of dark red meat wrapped by a long strip of white-now-turned-yellow meat. 

“No fancy word here, eat up. Just a piece of grilled Miltank meat warped in Feraligator tail meat and traditional Arcadian seasoning. Or I like to call it.”

A fucking orgy of meat?” She took the plate and poked the outer layer with concern.

“Close enough.” He reached for a can of beer and opened it. “Ah, time like this is perfect for a beer.” He took a bite and drank a sip. He let out a thin smile of pure satisfaction.

“Isn’t it every time with you, Rick?”

“Stop being a wise ass and enjoy it. You did a good job today, get your reward.” He looked at the uneven holes beside the Sandile bodies.

“Thanks. You too. Enjoy your…meal. What? No shiny silverware?”

“Just eat it for god’s sake.” Catherine picked up the meat with the other hand and tried to take a bite. She had to work out a way to eat the two kinds of meat without making the strip falling off. It was a bit chewy, more so than Mercy’s usual menu. But by grilled food standard, it was soft enough and strangely juicy. And the seasoning just made it the more delicious. She savored the taste and swallowed.

“Ummmm, for an abomination of a meal. It’s great.”

“Right”

“I’m not shitting you. It is. Who taught you to cook like this?” She said while continued chewing, letting the sweat juice falling down before swallowing.

“Yeah, you can thank my dad for that.”

“Oh, so he was a cook or something?”

“Nah, he had a lot of jobs. You know, got to keep us both floating. He can do all kind of awesome crap.”

“Like what?”

“Eh, I saw him do those bartender tricks a few times. You know, tossing the crap around for show instead of making the damned drink. He packs stuff and drives pretty fast, even when drunk. Don’t tell the cops. And imitate all kind of voices to avoid checks up from the police. He once outran a bounty hunter from one of his bail bond agents. He never paid or get caught. He is really proud about the last one.”

“Hum doesn’t sound like a job-job to me.”

“Yeah, those were tough times.”

“Same story huh?”

“You too?”

“How do you say it? Welcome to the club.” She extended her arms, one hand still had the can and the other the piece of meat. Then bowed, slightly.

“You know what funny?”

“No, I have not read enough books or watch enough movies for that.”

“In comic books, having powers is awesome. In real life, gigantic cock block.”

“Uh huh, just curious, what is your powers anyway?”

“I have no scientific term for that. No doctor was around. But I think it’s a blood rage. When it happen, I can have the strength much greater than what my normal state could muster. It can numb me from pain and do all kind of crazy stuff, even regeneration, though slow. But well, when that happen something is going to be the target of my rage. Sometimes, it just needs to be the thing in front of me. It’s like a trance. So really dangerous.” He took a bite and continued. “I can’t control it well when I was younger. A great bother for my dad back then. I remember he said I was born pissed off. Pretty much burned and head butted everything around me. Even the rock that my mother placed my egg on. The old man said I destroyed the house and nearly got him in jail for arson. He always laughs that one of for some reason.”

“You can’t expect him to break down in front of you. That’s what fathers do.”

“Haha, I guess so. The old fart was always over optimistic in my eyes. Even me as a kid thought that was too much. I saw all the trouble in hiding me from being caught, helping me control my powers, all the rejection letters, the hate and the crummy jobs that he put up with for me. But he just smiled. Sometimes it pisses me off to see that smile. You know, like he was lying to me.”

“I know. But you cannot hate him for that.”

“I don’t, I didn’t. But I don’t mind if he just let loose once in every wild. But he just, again laugh it off and: “Son, thinking too hard is not your job, it’s mine. How about something to change that grumpy old face. Looking at that face. It is a god damn eyesore.” Heh. Taught me how to grill right there too.” Rick closed his eyes. “God bless his soul.”

“Bless him. Your father sounds like a wonderful Pokémon.”

“Yeah, but sadly, I failed to keep myself on the straight and narrow after he is gone. You know, crimes and stuff.”

“No one blames you.”

“I’m not. I’m over it a long time ago. No need for reassuring.” He carefully placed the can to touch his lips and not the fang.

“Good for you, then.” She ate some more. “So it’s like an ability that passed down from your ancestors or something?”

“No, it’s, mutation.”

“Mutation? But you look, normal.”

“Not all mutated look like the things in the Outlands, big and jacked-up. Although I look pretty jacked.” He flexed his muscles a bit and earned a disgusted look from Catherine. “Some looked normal and have normal jobs and life. Eh, scratch that, only a small number has a normal life. Most are either dead or bandits.”

“I see. So the nation is being a real dick about it?”

“Hahaha. That is the most straightforward and accurate description I got. Yup. It’s like a staple thing on Essal. It’s different from us, kill it.”

“Or use it and sacrifice it for the “greater good”.” They both nodded and let their cans of drinks touch. “So, uh, don’t mean to pry but what get you in the whole mess? If it too personal then I’ll get the fuck out of your hair.”

“Long story short, the reason why ferals got mutated is because of the nuclear fallout in the Apocalypse war.” He then pointed at the cap on Catherine’s head. “And no one gives a regular Pokémon that cap. You can put two and two together.”

“Oh, I see.” War. The cause of everything horrible on Essal. Catherine knew there were others, but out of everyone she had spoken too, war is always the main culprit of their sufferings. She did not know if that was accurate or not, but it was sure as hell easy to blame everything on war. She was not going to ask anything else about it. His sudden shift in tone warned her not to. Saw Rick’s expression, she said. “Okay. I won’t ask anymore.” Catherine dropped the can and showed her palm.

“So how about you? Any family or just your uncle?”

There was a quick pause. “Eh, yeah, just him. And you know how much of an asshole he was.”

“At least he cares about you, some bit.”

“Maybe, but still, my nation is a dick when it comes to whatever the fuck I do.”

“They all know?”

“Yup, but let’s not ruin the barbecue shall we? The weather alone sucks enough.”

“Agree.” He offered his fist. She stretched out her arm, hand formed into a fist as well. Their fists than made contact.

“You are still pretty weak.” Like her punch, this was Rick’s attempt to change the subject.

“Oh fuck you!” She punched again, much harder this time.

“Still weak. You know what can help you with that? Work out a bit. You are soft around the edges.”

“Again with that, no I don’t wanna work out. Why you need muscle when you can murder thing with the mind?”

“Then why the hell do you still punch things then?”

“Um. Ehhh, I don’t know.”

“Knew it. Just try to finish your lunch, still got a lot of corpses to bury.”

“Please, don’t remind me.”

After that, they ate up the rest of the meal and had a chat about random topics. The movies they saw, a few other agents, guns and kills-competing which one was more entertaining. Before they got back to work, Rick received a call from the base’s operator.  “Hold on a sec.” He put down a can on his empty plate. “Hello, yup this is Rick. Yeah. Yeah, okay.” Catherine drank the last of her can of beer.

“Who the fuck is that?”

“The operator called. We need to move out.”

“Why? What’s new?”

“The satellite spotted something. Two motorcycles have just teleported a few miles from here, heading to that abandoned city they said.” Rick pointed at the black line drawn by buildings on the horizon. ‘Looked a lot like you know who.”

“Bandits kingdom?”

“Yeah, the King must have teleported them there. Probably for scavenging.”

“Shit. Tracking these guys just take forever, now that they do this teleport bullshit.”

“Well the time, let’s give these guys a little surprise.”

“What about the corpses?”

“I’ll address a clean-up crew, kinda expensive but will have to do. Come on, let’s move.”

Catherine then nodded and both headed to the car. They set the city beyond the field of craters their next destination.  

In the abandoned city, a few blocks away from the Arcanine and the Gardevior. Inside a fast food restaurant.

“Good afternoon, fine gentlemen, how about a greasy-artery-destroying-hamburger for someone as classy as you. What, you think I’m comparing you to a piece of worthless crap? Never. This is a nice burger. It’s 100% beef, no Ratata. It is slime which made from 100% meat of Miltank rotten backsides and one Raticate. You can have some of the freshest salad to go along with it. You might choke on the pesticide, but it is really authentic and delicious. That’s a rumor, I have heard.” An Infernape standing behind a busted counter gleefully said. Instead of a low-paying job uniform, he wore a Bandits Kindom knight armor. The light kind with a few metal pieces and no helmet. There was a large metal patch covered his left eye. A notable feature was several dark lines drew from the missing eye ran all across his cheek.

“Cain, stop it with this bollock!” A Chestnaught said from the outside of the place. He wore much heavier chains armor and had an enormous riot shield made from an unknown metal on his back. This artificial shield replaced the natural round armor all Chestnaught had. The result effectively giving the Pokémon the ability to stand straight at all time, reaching the height a bit more than Rick’s. There were traces of char from explosions, scratches and blood stains all over it. On top of that height was a knight helmet that was too small for him.

“Aw come on, Cole, where is your sense of humor? The situation should be in reversed. I would be the nasty uptight and dictatorial Agnian and you will be the hilarious and always cynical Florian.”

“I told you. This is not a cartoon.”

“You are no god damn fun.”

“Just help me bag this son of a whore and get back to base. The sooner we get the King off our backs the better.”

“Why worry about the King? You got your friend Cain right here. No one can fuck with Cain.”

“Yeah, cause no male or female is interested enough to fuck with you. And by that, I mean mating. Also, he tossed you half a mile away with a mental flick. If there is any comparison, it was like flicking a piece of booger with his pinky.”

“Cheap shot, I was just playing around. Stroking his ego to lower his defense. Then I shall Mach Punch his near non-existing dick when he is least expected. And just take it easy there with the insults Cole.”

“Take it easy? Don’t forget. You are the cock-fondling son of a whore that drag us in this whole Bandits Kingdom mess in the first place.”

“Hahahaha. I love it when you talk to me like that.”

“You bloody idiot! Go fuck yourself.”

“Aw. Common. You saw what he has. He can have every other boring thing like power and slaves and us just gonna nap all that gold. Just play it out. And wait til the time is right. Imagine the new life we can buy. I’ll stop bothering you and you can go back to the life of pointless indulgent.”

“Yeah, thank you for reminding me that for the fifth fucking time. Why are you keep explaining these things over and over?”

“You can never know when invisible camera crew following you around. Everybody need knows our motivations in order to relate to us. We just want a lot of money for starting something new and things to do for fun. That’s pretty much everybody on this god forsaken planet.”

“Why am I? God damn it. I told you, this is not a fucking cartoon.” He said through his teeth.

“Of course, it’s not. It’s something else.” Cole didn’t say anything after that, just slapped the front of his face. “Oh, I’m bored, let’s go nap this guy and go home,” Cain said and picked up the sniper rifle behind the counter.

“Finally! A notion that I can bloody follow.”

 

At the city entrance gate.

“So Rick, what is this place?” Catherine said as both were standing in front of the city toll booth. The sign was too rusted for her to read.

“Well, I heard this whole dump was once a city belong to the Arcadian. It called eh, I think it’s Menoda or something. Among the first few cities, that got affected by the nuclear radiation.”

“That explain the gigantic holes.”

“Yup. This one was among the first to heal, too. All radiation are gone, so we can breathe without worry. But be on your toes, though. Gods know what kind of residents this place has right now.” That was something Catherine did not quite catch so she just nodded and moved on.

Passed by row and row of cars on stand still, they stepped in the city. Plant lives and mosses had already taken nearly half of the scenery. The plants were the mutated kind, seen as their leaves were as big as a parasol. From the roads to the buildings and even billboard signs, all have the fingerprints of Mother Nature on them. They walked on until facing a concentration of foliage blocking their way.

“I’ll get that for ya, stand back,” Rick said before setting them ablaze with his Flamethrower. When the fire had made a big enough path, He commanded his beard to absorb the fire. A square for a gathering of the sort was revealed when the smoke died off. There was a gigantic marble statue of Arceus in the middle of the place. It had turned green because of the moss. Catherine took Cerberus out and Rick got one of his shotguns. Catherine looked around and came across blacken skeletons from Pokémon of various sizes. They were hidden in between the plants.

“Ugh, what happened here?”

“Riots, looting, or I like to call it, civilization committing suicide.”

“Riot? I thought the radiation could just kill them off.”

“Well, not exactly that direct. From this distance, the effect is slow and painful but well, won’t kill ya right away. You can still run and punch thy neighbor in the face and steal their crap. Survival is what they say. I would have said that too.”

“I guess these guys were just trying to find a way out.”

“Most likely. Just imagine the madness happened here. Pokémon was screaming, looting, fighting, and killing. All that. Eh.” Rick paused and looked down at the ground. “Hehe, Catherine check this out, this dude is held on to a Karaoke machine. What the f were you going to do with it, man?”

She had a look. “That is definitely odd, and Karaoke? That sounds Asuna-ish.”

“Yeah, it is. It’s a signing contest thing where you can play at home. It’s fun.”

“Oh, well, at least he got his priority straight. The fucking nuclear holocaust would be boring without it.”

“No thanks, I’ll be boring with my supply, shelter, and intact flesh.”

Catherine let out an awkward laugh. “Hahaha, oh god. We are so fucking horrible.”

“Only us here, no one can judge us.”

“Well, not exactly just us.”

“Oh yeah, forgot. Just stay close, we’ll search this place out.”

They went inside one of the buildings-A fancy hotels that got turned into a makeshift base for a few Pokémon. The remaining skeletons were scattered all across the rug. Catherine search around the corner and found one set of bone with a peculiar weapon. A metal baseball bat that got a large blade melted to it, the black was darkened with dried blood. Made the thing look like Essal most dangerous can opener. She picked it up and test its weight. Not too much for her.

“Woo, that looks pretty beastly. Don’t let it cut you, though. Hepatitis C is there for the taking.”

“Noted.” Said her as she carefully placed it on her back. “I’ll keep it.”

A yell broke the silence around them. “We know you’re here, come out and play motherfucker!”

Both immediately got down on the carpet.

“Shit, you heard that?”

“Yeah.” Rick prepped up his shotgun.

“Did they know us here?”

“Impossible, the voice is like echoing through the damn place. No way they can be this close and see us coming. They are probably looking for some other Pokémon here.”

“Whatever the fuck they want, let’s not take any chances and stick to the shadow.”

“Easy for you to say.”

 

From the source of the yell.

“Bloody hell! What are you doing?”

“Eh, calling him out?”

“Oh, my god! Are you serious? Were you taking a piss?”

“That’s probably gonna make him carry out his little girlfriend and rattles shit up for us. A lot of trees around, we’ll pick it right up.”

“You, you, wanker. Even if shit rattle up, he got to be the size of a fucking Snorlax in order for us to notice.”

“Don’t sweat it, I got super good ears.”

“Yes, so good that I have told you: “You are an idiot.” ten million times and you don’t get it.”

“Come again?”

“Do the world a favor and just go fuck yourself.”

A rattle come from the wall behind them. “There, got him.” He took his sniper rifle out and shot at the wall. The sniper bullet pinned deep into the wall and exploded, blew opened a huge chunk of the wall. More rattle from underneath the hole and a mutated Rattata stretched and crawled its way out of the corner.

“Yeah, that’s not him.”

“Oh shit! I should have come up with something better.’ Cain took out a saw-off shotgun and point it at the Ratata. The Pokémon stood up instead of running away. “Quite a bold move, you filthy scum.” He shot the Pokémon.

 

A few blocks away.

“God, they are close.” The Arcanine hastily returned to the Gardevoir. He kneeled down and thought of the next thing to do. He was torn. He knew that they couldn’t stay here for long. Sooner or later, the two bandit knights would come. And when they did so, it would be the end for both him and her. He could go out and distract them, but what would be his chances of returning alive? He saw them in action. One was a mutated and the other was something he and his implant memories had never seen. Besides, he could not just let her here. In this rotten corpse of a city, who knew what might lurk behind those walls. There could be scavengers and other feral resided in this place. They could be waiting for him to leave and attack her. With the little choices he had, he picked up the Gardevoid and made his way to the back entrance of the building, finding some other place to hide.

“Harg!” The Chestnaught grunted as he bashed his shield at a support of a building. The blow broke the concrete pole like a cracker and took the building with it seconds later.  

“Hum, what did you told me again?”

“Well, since, you know, you fucked it all up. So let’s just make noise. Yeah, make him run for his life, maybe he’ll trip on some bullshit.”

“That’s the spirit. I told you it’s a good idea.” Cain said with a wide smile on his face.

“I was being sarcastic you dimwitted arsehole.”

“Heh. Whatever.”

“God, I wish that someday, some kind of god just take you away from my bloody hands.”

“Ha, don’t kid yourself, you… Oh GODDDD!” He crossed his arm and braced for an overcharged Crimson Focus Blast. The orb hit him and pushed him away. This time, Catherine had charged and held the attack long enough that the energy had become stable and did not explode immediately upon impact. The red orb dragged him along, searching for a building to crash him and it into. And after two full seconds, there was one, an office building covered mostly in glass. The orb and he made a hole in one of the windows and stopped at the elevator. The triggered explosion shook the building and its shockwave shattered a large number of windows into dust.

“Holy shit! Wish and you shall receive.” He turned to the left and found a pack of fiery rockets coming at him. “A giant middle finger straight up my arse.” He took out his shield and ducked down beneath it. Let the metal protector absorbed all the punishment.

Catherine surrounded by a cloud of dark purple aura were dashing straight at him. Her determination to break him made Cole stood up straight and resumed a defensive stance. In an instance, he raised the shield and slammed it down to the ground. The strength behind the impact was powerful enough to create a miniature earthquake that cracked the road and made the pieces moved in a ripple. When the chunks of the road stopped moving, things went silent. No thud or a grunt, just silence. And that was what worried him.

Something sharp punched through the armor and the back of his head was petrified. The blade had hit the chain armor and stung Cole. The force behind it stripped away a few links. But the blunt and unsharpened tip, made it stuck in the armor after a few strikes. As Catherine was about to throw him with her psychic power to get it out, a hand grabbed her neck and pulled her away from Cole. The bat sadly was still on him. Cole’s reflex made him removed the bat and turned around. He saw Cain was facing and choking Catherine with both hands. His eye and body were completely covered in a thick cloud of red and black mist. Below them, placed a grin with yellow fangs that kept getting longer and longer.

“Peekaboo.” The Cain said before increasing the force of his grip and lifted her up. She fanatically beat him in the head with her right arm. A punch and an elbow repeatedly to his face, until something inside, could be heard breaking. “You bitch!” Cain exclaimed before hurling her in the general direction of the building he had just crawled out from. He told Cole. “Take care of the others. I’ll deal with her.” And ran straight to Catherine with the shotgun ready to fire.

Catherine got on her feet and see Cain coming for a shotgun charge. She quickly dashed to the right, escaped a shotgun blast to her face. In a blink, she reached her hand out and grabbed the shotgun, locking the Infernape from moving. Like an instinct, she proceeded to strike his chest and abdomen with her knee while pulling his gun-holding arm back and forth. Did not let up, he punched her with the other hand, forced her to let go. When she did, he whipped the side of the barrel to her mouth. Her teeth pierced right in, made where her lip would feel numb. He jabbed her jaw with his left hand and about to finish the combo with the gun to her face. She gripped his shotgun in time, keeping the barrel away from her body. She held his other fist and got both to a standstill.

“I see, so there is indeed more like me out there. Tell me, should I kill you?” She spat the blood on his face. “I’ll spare you from answering.”

Catherine used psychic and covered his neck with the purple glow. She returned the pain she felt earlier to him as she choked Cain with her mind. He released the gun. Tried to get his hands to pry away the force on his neck. Catherine lets go of his arm and stepped back. She performed a Burden on the ground below him, making both of his legs broken from the added gravity. He let out a hellish scream despite the choke on him was still applied. Thought that she got him, Catherine prepare for a barrage of punches on him until she saw his changing face. Half of it, on the side of the patch, had been completely covered in a rugged and hard tar color substance. The fangs seem to keep getting longer. And they were eager to take a bite out of her. The displaced bone in his legs returned to their posts with a loud series of snaps, crunching sound. And he slowly stood up. Catherine increased the “Burden”, but he was not affected by it.

“C’mon, let’s play a game. The rules. Give me all the pain and I shall return the suffering.” He made a beast noise and pretended to plunge his fangs into her. Catherine decided the best thing to do was teleport away from him and use another method of attack. “Aw, you wanna play Chase first, fine.” He said before stepping out of the “Burden” effect field and picked up his shotgun.

Cole was following the smoke trails of the rockets. They were coming from the top of one of the tallest hotel in the city. When he was halfway there, a pair of hands broke away from the ground and grabbed his legs. Before he could say something about that and they pulled him down. He held on to his shield and kept more than half of his body above ground. The hands stopped and returned to the ground.

“You’ll pay for that, wanker.” He slammed the shield down and forced himself up. With caution, he looked around the area and felt the vibration under him. From there, he anticipated another strike and got away. He bashed his shield repeatedly on the ground, tried some way to bring his attacker out. Rick got out of the road and made his beard abruptly grew large for intimidation.  “That shit is not going to.” He squinted his eye and had a good look at Rick. “Oh shit, Rick, is that you?”

“Eh, who are you?” Cole charged forward and punched Rick in the face during his question. “It’s me, your lad, Cole.” Rick blocked a followed up attack and proceed to give him a backhand. “Cole? Oh, all grow up huh?” Cole bounced back performed a head bash. “Ten years man, kids gotta eat and grow. And you got old and slow.” He looked down at Rick, who was shaking the dizziness off of his head.

“Why don’t you just stop with all the fighting and talk normally? It’s really tiring to do that.”

They backed away from each other. Cole said, “Bandits code. Your friend attacked us first and a duel was made.”

“Really, then forfeit and we’ll talk.”

“No way, man.”

“C’mon, you know that I’m going to win either way so just give up.”

“Oh, you asked for it. You think I’m still that little kid that you just throwing around like a football?”

Rick let out a grin. “Pf, Arcadian or Florian football?”

“Oh, you nob. That’s just pushing the button.” He dropped the shield and formed his hands into fists. His arms were trembling and shaking violently. He screamed as his veins and muscle fibers gained more size at a rapid rate. When the arm stopped growing, he slammed his fists together, shooting a small shockwave at Rick.

“Hum, nice trick. What were you on these days? Roid?”

“ENOUGH OF YOUR BULLSHIT, I’LL SHOW YOU OF WHAT I CAN DO.”

“Dude calm the hell down.”

“EAT SHIT AND DIE, YOU SHIT-EATING PIECE OF SHIT!”

Rick let out a laugh. “I’m gonna write that down.” and opened his palms wide. They were more than ready to catch Cole’s raging fists. He got them and got pushed back quite a distance. His feet were dragged and dug into the road. When Cole couldn’t push him any further, he said. “Feel better about yourself? Good. Now is my turn. Hell Raiser!” The burst of heat repelled Cole back and made him run for his shield. When he grabbed it, Rick shot a Flamethrower, causing him to take cover behind the shield. He felt the vibration on the ground and heard “INFERNO BITCH-SLAP” from the other side of the shield. Cole immediately performed a shield bash. Their attacks came in opposite directions and collided with a bang.

In another part of the city. Catherine was standing in the middle of the street. To her left and right were two office building. Each had at least two hundred windows in their possession. Her hands were opened and covered in the psychic glow. 

“You think you can hide from me? Should have picked a better place. Like a library. I would never go there.” He said, a few feet away from her back. She gripped her fingers into fists as the Infernape kept getting closer. “Oh, finally give up huh.”

“No.”

“Don’t worry, I will let you have some fun and…” A series of windows began to break. “Holy shit!” Said him, as three feet Psyshock blades emerged from every window of the two buildings and headed straight for him. There were too many at once for his eyes to register, let alone dodge. Instead, he stood still and moved the aura around him, created a shield of the sort. However, before the aura could solidify, the first blade pierced through the mist and stabbed him near the kidney. They kept on raining down on him and only stopped at his flesh and bone. He let out a horrid screech in each hit but stopped when the blades had no room left to hit but the ground.

Cain was left kneeling and pinned to the ground. In and surrounding him, were the blades reflecting sunlight. Blood oozing out from the wound and formed a pool under his feet. He looked at her. His good eye began to be taken over by the darkness. And the tar soon spread to the other side of his face. The fangs in his mouth grew so long that it could no longer fit in his mouth. Strings of blood like drool ran along his chin. “Well, it” he panted, each breath escaped through his bloody teeth. “This is. Haha, oddly arousing.” He smiled at her.

She spoke to the voice inside. _“Okay, help me kill this guy,”_ Catherine whispered and closed her eyes. She opened her mouth and let out more aura. Her eye turned black and locked on Cain. She raised her left hand and charged a Crimson Focus Blast.

“Oh, you going to step up your game. I’m about to do it too.” He shook off a few blades on him and got on his feet. He was not shaking or fazed by the aftermath of Catherine’s attack. Cain let out a prolonged grunt, commanding the aura around him to gather up. The blood under his feet transformed into red aura and climbed on his body. His eye turned completely black and a blood red dot showed up in the middle. The aura transformed themselves into tar and harden around him and overwritten his armor. They closed up the holes caused by Catherine’s blades and made his arms bigger, his finger longer and formed into claws. His head twitched as bat-like wings sprouted from his back. “What on Essal?” Said her before throwing the orb.

Cain formed what seem to be orange air around his hand and reached back. He then extended his blacken hand to an extraordinary length. It touched the orb and pushed the attack back to Catherine, who teleported away from its path. She was in slight shock when looking back at him.

“Vacuum Wave, Bitch! And don’t you know it’s rude to interrupt someone special moment?” Said as his wings grew bigger and lifted him off the ground, allowed him to look down at Catherine with pride. “Oh come on, that’s all you got? Get up here and fight me. Or I’ll eat your babies. Are they born yet? If not, I’m gonna eat something else, like a delicious muffin made of meat, your meat.” Catherine looked up with awe and disbelief. “Why so surprised? I’m Cain, bitch.” He glided about in a few loops. “Pretty nice, yah?”

“But, but, how did you retain your personality?”

“Because I’m, CRAZY! My created voices were so loud that even he has to give up and join in the fun with me.”

She held up her right hand, made it glow and waved it downward. “No, you just an utter idiot.”

“Look who’s talking. Woah.”

Gravity under him sucked Cain down. The impact was strong enough to make a crater. A few remaining Psyshock blades dug into him but broken before real damage was made. She levitated some other blades and let the extra powerful gravity pull them down instead of her own power. The first few blades flew with amazing velocity and broke off Cain’s tar armor. A few other punched through it and impaled him. “Oh god!” She levitated a couple more blades and increase the gravity exerted on Cain, made the drop down faster. The gravity pinned him down harder, made his wings seemingly useless. Another barrage of blades came down.“That hurts. Real good. Hehehehe. Hahahahaha.” She silenced him by increasing the force behind her Gravity. So much that the crater Cain laid within enlarged and got deeper.

Catherine released the gravity. The blades should be enough to hold him. “Oh it’s nothing, how about this?” Catherine charged two Focus Blast orbs with her hand. She meshed them together and prepared for a Focus Arm Cannon.

“Oh, no you don’t.” He slammed his fists down, the vibration broke off the blade and allowed him to get up. He broke a few of them in his path and struck out his fist for a Mach Punch. Unfortunately, he managed to glue the attack to Catherine’s gut, way before she could aim the orb of destructive energy at him. The sudden attack caused her hand to launch it at a different target, the top floor of a random building. The orb touched the gently touched the outer wall and let out a blinding light.

The explosion rocked the city and caused the Arcanine and the Gardevoir stopped and seek immediate shelter, feared of a leftover bomb had gone off somewhere in the city. Cain was not affected by the attack in any form. He was focusing on performing Close Combat on Catherine. After battered her with his relentless attacks. He took a step back and finished up with a Focus Punch in her heart. Catherine heard the sound of broken walls before everything turned to black. The hit propelled her through 3 set of walls. They belonged to relatively small houses and a store so she could fly through them with relative ease. The aura couldn’t do much else but focus around her and soften the punishment. She stopped in the wall for a short while. The voice constantly fixing her up and tried to get her back on. It didn’t work. Cain came and grabbed her by the coat. He dragged her back out and tossed her on the street.

Cain flipped Catherine over with his foot, he wanted to see the damage. She took quite a beating from him. Her face was bruised and some parts were swelling up bad. Places on her coat where his fists touched were torn and even burnt. The tank top underneath were still holding up.

“How, disappointing. You are even worse than my brother.” He put his hand in front of her face. “Together once more.” He started absorbing her aura. But he then stopped. “Is there any point to this?” He twitched his head to the left. “This is no fun.” He kicked her side. “Oh come on. I gave you every chance possible and you still cannot satisfy me.” When she didn’t give him any respond, he sat down beside her, hand supporting his chin. “Never feel fair for both me and the other. Fights are fun, but it eventually will end and someone is going to die or give up. The fun never lasts forever. That’s lame beyond imagination. Don’t you agree? Hello? Are you still alive? That raising flat chest said so. Why is your breathing getting weaker? Oh come on, my attacks are not that powerful. I just sent you flying over ten buildings and sandwiched you in ten more. Not sure any of that is correct, of course. But it’s not like it hurts right? Oh right, no Corruption yet. Shame, you got all the potentials but somehow never got unlocked. Shame, shame.”

Catherine couldn’t feel or hear anything at that point. Her head had a spinning sensation and suddenly stop. In front of her, there was only a void of emptiness. A voice came, it was her imaginary friend for life.

_“This is the end. I will finally be free of you. Maybe being absorbed by this one isn’t so bad. But, he had full control does that means things are worse for me? No matter. Goodbye, Catherine. I’ll be your burden, no more.”_

_“Shit, is this how it end? Well, I guess it is. Even you is giving up on me, oh wait, you never fucking care. It’s time to reflect on my life. And all I can see is a bag of shit. Bummer.’ She sighed in her mind. “Mother. I’ll see you soon.  And sorry Azazel, I have failed you. I didn’t do much good for this world. Just slightly made it less fucked up. Even I’m not sure about that either. Just kill lots of guys because some guy told me too.”_ She saw a light. It started as a white horizon and slowly expanding, expanding. And soon, it took her full vision.

 

Back at Rick and Cole, both had returned to their normal state. Rick got a deep cut on his cheek and dents on his armor. While Cole got burn marks all over his arms and back. His knight helmet was gone. The shield was pinning in a faraway wall and pieces of Rick’s firearm could be seen on the ground. Cole threw a punch at Rick. Clear exhaustion showed in the speed behind it. Rick casted the punch to the side and moved closer. He constantly jabbed his right fist to Cole’s face abdomen. When Cole’s arm grew weak, Rick stopped. He grabbed Cole’s head and head-butted him. Rick then grabbed Cole arm and performed a Judo throw, tossed Cole to the ground. Cole was picked up.

“No, no, no, not the power slam bullshit. Not the power slam bullshit.” Rick lifted Cole over his head with both hands.

“Should have think twice before challenge me, son.”

“Oh, you nob. No, no.” Rick jumped up and slammed him down. Cole landed on his back in a loud crash. And Rick watched as Cole rolling on his back, clearly in pain. Rick felt bad for him but didn’t wish to help him up. “You ask for it, deal with it. That’s the Bandit code.” He wiped the corner of his mouth. “Now stop with the bull crap and give me some answer. My lad.”

“Ugh, yeah, wait for a sec.”

When the light shone the brightest. She heard something, chatter of a single voice, too low pitch for her to hear. The pain came back, and it was excruciating. She could feel it on her face, but her chest was the worst. Ever heart beat was a bullet fired from within her. She didn’t know how she managed to breathe but she was sure that at least two of her ribs was inside her lungs. The beats were getting rapid by the second. And before she realized it, she woke up. The face of Cain was not something she wished to see.

“There you go. Now, fight me, again.” He said before standing up and kicked her.

Catherine sprang up and teleported, back away from him. Her coat sides flew as she did so. She looked down and saw her coat had been. For a second, that made her feel unclean. She shook in disgust at the thought he had touched her. She snapped the buckle back in a hurry and yelled at him. “What the fuck? What have you done to me?”

“I’m sharing a bit of my power to you. I’m not good at math but I think we are equal now.”

“How and why the fuck did you did that?”

“Nope, not telling you how. I just want you to a bit stronger so I can kill you and fell proud about myself.”

“Argh. You are an utter idiot, you know that.” She had to keep talking, it is the only way to stall him and get herself healed. “Why are you doing all this?”

“You started it. I didn’t have my power ready so that blow really hurt.”

“You are a bandit. You deserved it.”

“So? You can’t just kill someone because they are bandits. We just wanted to take a guy back to our base and get the day over with. And you just have to fuck it up. Now, no time for chatting, try Corruption and fight me. I brought you back for a reason. Entertain me so that I might forgive you for sucker punched me. After you die, of course.”

“No fucking way.” She held on to her newly healed ribs.

“Can’t do it. So you are one of those two shoes. Come on. Make a pact with your voice. Take it to dinner, have a conversation and fuck it. Not in that literal sense. I don’t even know how it is done. Though thinking back, it would be…” And he kept rambling on.

_“Okay, this fucker is definitely gonna kill us this time. Any bright idea?”_

_“Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing. Don’t think it as anything special. I just don’t know at the time being.”_

_“Both of us is gonna be in some shit place if we don’t get rid of this guy. So, let’s form a temporary alliance.”_

_“And your idea is?”_

_“Well, he just gave us more, we could stand a chance. So give me all you got but let me handle this. I got some strategies that do not ram your face into your adversary and actually use my fucking guns.”_

_“I supposed, but what if you failed? You are not even familiar with your, I mean my power yet. He on the other hand.”_

_“What about that arm? You can still fight him in your own way and I have mine. At least try something to make it work.”_

_“Fine, I’ll see. Now, duck.”_

“What? Oh, fuck!” A black fireball was coming for her. She dodged it. It didn’t hit, but she could still feel the heat crawling by her face.

“Come on, get your shit together bitch!” He charged up his shotgun with his own energy.

“Fine. I’ll give you what you want, you spoiled psychotic brat.” She said in her normal voice and slammed her palms together. The gesture allowed a pair of bone arms made from her on aura to spawn on her back.

_“Catherine. I’m ready.”_

_“Okay. I’ll give you something to hold.”_

The aura hands then presented themselves in front of her. _“Wow, this is you?”_ She examined them closely.

_“No quite, just a part of me. Now give.”_

She used Psyshock to create two long curved blades for each hand. The arms then swung them made the blades danced with grace.

“Yes, this will do, just fine.”

“Cool, I can never do that. Okay, I’m…” She shot him in the face with Cerberus. The electrical shots stun him a bit. “Aw, you cheeky bitch. I like that. No fuss, just…” Catherine teleported forward and slashed across his face, made a clank with the metal patch. The following strikes were precise and deadly. There was no room for the counter in between slashes. One blade finished its bloody business and another ready to do its own business and reset. Multiple cuts showed up on Cain armor and body. Once Cain used the thick aura on his arms to protect himself. The hands swiped in a cross pattern, briefly broke Cain’s protection. Catherine fired three more electric orbs. They stunned him long enough for the blade to go in for fifty stabs into his torso. The blades stopped and Catherine fire more electric shots to the open wounds. It was burning from the inside of Cain, he could feel it. Cain backed off and used Mach punch. The blades caught his fist like a pair of chopsticks and cut through the hard tar and got to the bone.

‘Gotcha.’ She replaced Cerberus and summoned the miner cutter. ‘Laser, super effective against you motherfucking Keepers.’ She charged it up and fired at him. The shot almost melted away the tar on his body and vaporized it back into the aura. When the back began to overheat and Cain scream was getting too much for her, she raised her foot, covered it with her psychic glow and kicked him in the center mass. The hands noticed and let go, gave her full view of Cain flying backward. He crashed into the lower floor where Catherine was last time. In a moment, he stepped out with pride. “Yes. Finally, pain.”

“Here’s more.” Said her as the hand threw the blades at him, pinned him to the ceiling. The hands then grabbed Catherine forearm.

_“What are you doing?”_

_“Fire your Focus Blast now.”_

Just as she focused her mental energy, a stream of smaller Focus Blast orbs flew from her hand. “Oh shit.”

“Oh fuck me,” Cain said as he broke the first blade and ready for felling constant explosions went off on his skin.

As the dust caused by the explosions subsided, he jumped downward. His body twitched as he landed and the wings on his back turned into mist. It then headed straight for the ground. “Okay, how about this.” Sharp dark spikes made from his dark aura came up from the ground.

“Shit.” As Catherine jumped away from each spike. Cain crouched down.

“Dark Descendent” shouted as he fired a wave of darkness at her.

“Oh, not this shit again.” The two hands extended and slammed to the ground, triggered a Dark Descendent of their own. The two attacks merged and canceled each other out. Catherine jumped through the smoke and charged straight for Cain. He smiled and raised his arms. Unknowing to Catherine, that triggered a hand made from shadow to raise from the ground and grabbed her.

“What the fuck?”

“You are not the only one that can do giant hands. Hahahahaha. That was fun. Now I can crush you with glee. It will be like using dad’s vice on eggs. I never got to chance to see that as I don’t have a dad or a dad’s vice. So here we go. It was fun. But sucks that we cannot play it again. I gonna take back what I gave and some more.”

The hands on Catherine’s back tried punching for a way out. “Hahaha, I cannot feel the pain if you keep poking there. My body is here. Any last…argh.” The Arcanine came from behind him and cut the aura link with a katana with the hilt made from gun parts. He turned the blade and swipe upward. Cain turned around and faced him. His claw clashed the Arcanine’s blade. “Okay, stop interrupting my monologs now. That would be nice, yah?” They separated. The Arcanine threw the blade at Cain, who lean backward and dodged it. “Matrix, bitch!” Shouted before he got up and received a full metal sole, and another and four more to his face.

Cain was confused and disorientated, from the repeated kicks to the face and from the question of what had just hit him. After successfully pulled off six kicks with his air flares, the Arcanine did a handstand then back on his feet. With the claws in his paws extended and doused in flame, he charged forward and stabbed them into Cain’s chest. Cain didn’t scream. The Arcanine tried to withdraw and Cain caught his arm, gripping on the armor plate. He put a crush grip the plate. And it retaliated by emitting a powerful shock, enough for him to let go. Three fire claws then slashed across his face and striped way the patch. Cain covered his face, gave the Arcanine the chance to perform a drop kick and forced the Infernape on the ground. In a rage, Cain got himself up. “Dark Descendent” He shot a wave at the Arcanine, forcing him to do several backflips to get away

“You can do ten million of those and nothing will” Another Dark descendent showed up and nullified Cain’s. “Change. Shit. Forgot.” He turned and saw Catherine in a Focus Arm Cannon pose. The arms were still held onto her forearm, charging more energy into the attack. Cain didn’t know what happened after that. A moment he was there and the next thing he knew a force made him fly through the bus stop behind him. Catherine finished taking aim and fired. Cain dived forward and used Vacuum wave to deflect the orb. But the orb kept moving forward and pushed him inside the apartment behind him. After a few seconds, the orb went off and completely demolished the apartment and a few neighbor buildings. The shockwave created nearly blew both Catherine and the Arcanine away. However, they managed to endure to force and a high pitch ringing sound in their ears. In a flash, it was over.

In Cain’s previous spot was now the Arcanine, recovering from a kick and covering his ear. Catherine offered her hand to help him get up. “Thanks” he accepted it. “About to say the same to you. Now, be careful. It’s not over yet.” Catherine said and took out the laser cutter. A stream of black fire erupted from the mountain of rubble in front of them. Cain crawled out of it, looked more pissed rather than hurt. His bone and strips of flesh were left exposed, but they were returning to where they should be, all with the help of the aura. Never in her life, did Catherine wish that she was wrong. _“How long and how much punishment can this guy take? Was that the true power of the voice?”_

_“It is, as long as his head is attached to the body and his mind is strong enough. This one believes that there are no consequences in this world and nothing can hurt him. That mixing with me is what are currently see. Mind over matter.”_

_“No wonder why you keep nagging me about it.”_

_“Change your mind?”_

_“Don’t push it.”_

Cain’s left eye had an orange cross scar in where the iris should be. And it was looking at them. “Okay, go ahead, talk for a long time. Now I got to interrupt your monologs. See how you would enjoy it. And I can’t do it if you both are on your toes like that.”

A loud bang caught the three of them attention.

“All of you, stop! Cain, let them go.”

“What the fuck? Are you serious? I was about to, blah, are you serious?”

“Yes.” A stern answer.

Rick then entered the area with Catherine’s bat in his hand. He witnessed the carnage left behind by the fight. Once he saw Catherine, his eyes widen. Noticed the weird look, Catherine retracted the arms. But then she realized he were more focus on her beaten up state. Made him appear more worry than curious. He walked past Cole and head to Catherine.

“Thanks, old man,” Cole said with a smirk.

“I don’t know what you are talking about. You okay?” He asked Catherine. She just gave a thumb up.

Cole then looked up at Cain. “C’mon you crazy sack of nobs, let’s go.”

“But, but, they shot me first. I just had fun with her. And they cheated. I give her some of my power and she cheesed it with this guy. I need my part of justice in this world. And what about the King? We need to bring this guy in.” Cain jumped down the rubble and swallowed some of the aura around his head while his body absorbed the rest.

“You said don’t take him seriously right? Now with us kinda beaten up, he will believe that we did put one hell of a fight and before losing this bastard to these guys.” He pointed at the Arcanine, who glared his fangs at Cole. “A few losses might make him the more unwary. With that, we can nap that treasure easier now.”

“But you said it would take months for that.”

“Well, then we better get started, right. Got that? Or are you taking another piss?”

“Fine. Put it that way.” He turned to Catherine and gave a seemingly friendly grin. His teeth were normal again. “Well, nice meeting ya, psychic girl. You need practice, a lot, or the next time I won’t be so easy on you. And by that I mean I will probably kill you, without the monologs, dun dun dun. And you, weird mongrel thingy, get out of my face! Get out of my face!”

“God, why the fuck have to babysit this guy?” Cole rubbed his scratched temple.

“Now you know my pain,” Rick said.

“Haha. Yeah, except back then I was not something with the power of a warhead.”

“Yes, of course. You were and still a friggin wuss.”

“Whatever. Remember your promises.’

“Again, don’t know what you are talking about.”

“I will keep mine then. C’mon. Let’s get the fuck out of here Cain. Oh God, my back. Do you have to do the power slam bullshit?”

Both them then left the scene. When they finally disappeared from her sight, did Catherine summon a healing syringe and jabbed it to her vein. She let out a sigh like an addict as the serum eased her remaining pain. “God fucking hell. I feel like my inside were messed up and then somehow got put together again.”

“Pretty fierce all right. Mercy is gonna have a hard time patching those.”

“Make an ugly joke and I will kill you! Sorry, I got that every time. And what the fuck was that guy? Keepers now just started popping up like that?”

“Please. There is no time. I need your help” The Arcanine said. His appearance stumped Rick for a moment.

Rick then asked. “Easy there, buddy. What do you need?”

“Medicine. Anything that can help her.”

“Who?”

“Just follow me.”

They walked to a cafe a few blocks away. The sight of the Gardevior laying safely behind the counter gave the Arcanine a sigh of relief. Catherine picked a chair and sat down. She injected another healing hypo, numbing some pain that showed up once more. Rick with some difficulty, worked around the counter and had a look at the Gardevoir.

“She is going to be fine. I think.” He said.

“You are no fucking doctor,” Catherine said.

“That’s what we are supposed to say. I’ll make a call for the car and take you both to the base. Genesis would know how to help ya.” He pressed a button on his fabricator.

“Genesis?” The Arcanine said.

“Yeah, my boss.”

The sound of the car crashing through the remaining traffics and buildings was heard. A moment later, the car parked outside of the café. “Yup, it’s here.”

“Thank you, and you are.”

Rick then looked at Catherine. “Oh, eh. I’m Danko and that Clare. Clare, help him get the girl out.”

Catherine squinted her eyes at Rick’s made up names for them. Not that the name was bad but why would Rick did that. Yet, something told her, there was a reason for that. She nodded and held the Gardevoir gently with her psychic hold. Noticed the concern look on the Arcanine. Catherine reassured him. “Don’t get your shit twisted, she’s fine. It’s like floating on air. Nothing gonna break.” She then moved to the exit and slowly got inside the car.

“Thank Danko. I’m Nate by the way.”

“Uh huh.”

They all got inside the car. Catherine and Rick got the first row of seats and the couple was in the back. The Gardevoid lying on two back seats and Nate was kneeling down in the mid-section of the car. He rubbed her forehead tenderly. She was still weak and couldn’t say anything but just smile. Rick started to drive.

“So what did he promise you? Danko?” Catherine asked.

Rick activated his gas mask and tapped on his collar while looking at her. Silently asked her to do the same. She did, no question asked. Her eyes were wide and she was confused but she did what he asked.

“Well, Clare, he made sure that the next time we bump into him, he’s gonna help us in some way. And what I promise him.” Rick looked back, Nate was too focus on the Gardevoid to notice. “But first,” he reached his hand to the control panel and pressed a button. A white odorless gas suddenly filled the inside of the car. “Sorry, Nate, but this is a procedure. No hard feeling, pal.” Rick said as Nate noticed the gas. He turned back and saw Rick’s mask made visible by the smoke. He couldn’t do much else but fell to sleep right on the spot. Catherine used psychic to place him near the Gardevior.

“Let me guess this is what happen the last time with you?” Catherine asked.

“Yeah, got me pretty pissed off too.”

“So, back to my original question. What did you promise that bandit?”

“Well, we just did. Don’t tail him and let him go. I was kicking his ass.”

“What the fuck were you thinking? How can you do that?”

“Because if I don’t do that. You and that guy would have been killed and I might be too if that Inferape got pissed off.”

“Not so sure. We could take him on if you let us.”

“Yeah, your pulp face said otherwise.”

“Okay. Okay. I got it. But still. You two looked like having some kind of history together. Who is him?”

“He is my…eh. I found him in a trash can in Arcadia 20 years back. So he has been my apprentice, maybe?”

“Oh, I see. Did you at least tag some kind of tracking devices on him?”

“No, I promise not tailing him didn’t I? And we tried that before, didn’t work for some reason.”

“So, basically, we got nothing. And I got my ass kicked.”

“If not for me, things could be worse. You could lose your life.”

“I already have.” Catherine was serious about that statement.

“But don’t worry, the things he promised me will pay off. I hope.”

“Ehhhhh that sounds slim. Then why don’t you just take him along? Let us all live happily ever after.”

“Can’t, he’s in too deep. He raided a few Genesis facilities. So they gonna lock him up. And how do I explain that Infernape? He is Keeper. Genesis is not going to let him in a nice situation.”

“Well, fuck him then.”

“He saw your powers, fought it too. Do you think he gonna keep his mouth shut when Genesis go down on him? And imagine how messy that could be when Genesis try to contain him. And if everyone found out, then what are the chances that they gonna give you a hard time as well. This is your new start, better not screwing it up now isn’t it?”

“So what must I say? Thank you?”

“You don’t have to say anything. Just know that I did the best I could for everyone.”

“So what going to happen to the guy?” She jerked her head to the hind seats.

“Following the procedure, of course.”

“Damn it! The fuck is the procedure?”

“That guy is a bandit. So I’ll turn him over to Genesis for interrogation.”

“That doesn’t sound. Eh, I just gonna say, it sounds fucking horrible.”

“Listen, don’t freak out, he will not be killed. Lucious is merciful, he will find a way to give this guy a chance. Like you.”

“Yeah, but that won’t apply if Lucious found out I’m a Keeper.”

“That’s different.”

“And what if this guy is different?  What if he is worse than your apprentice?”

“I did think of that and well. Just cross your nuts and finger. He got that chick so the chances are, he could be a decent guy. Most bandits would never carry weak female or children with them. Survival of the fittest.”

“So just throw him there and hope for the best? Why can’t he make that choice? Explain to me.”

“Again, I did the best I could for everyone. That girl will get her help. He will most likely want to be with her. You saw then, tightknit and what not. And you think the Outlands is the best place for him? There are collectors out there. Sick sumbitches that hunt, stuff and pays high prices for exotic specimens. See where I’m getting at?”

“Okay. Wow. When you not talking about beer or movies, you are fucking serious.”

“I have to be. These are lives we are talking about here. So are you on board? No objection?”

“Yes.”

“Good, I’ll get back to base, take him to Anna and write some reports. You take the girl to the medical wing. Get Markov on the line. He doing the monthly visit, so he is in Delta base. The dude is the best option for her. Remember to say Doc sent you.”

“Got it.”

 

A few hours later. Nate was lying in a dark room with a glass floor.

“Wake up.” A male voice filled the room and vibrated the glass.

Nate slowly stood up. “How did I? Where am I?”

“Pass out? One of our agents had tranquilized you before you entered. We have to carry out certain procedures. Cannot allow you to know the location of our facility.”

“Where is Carol, where is she?”

“The Gardevoir? She is being taken care by Essal’s finest doctor.”

“I want to see her.”

“You will eventually, but you need to answer some questions for me first. Standard procedures.”

“What is the meaning of this? I just want to see her.”

“So help yourself by answering these questions quickly.”

“Who are you? What do you want from me?”

“Who am I, doesn't matter. I want answers that's all. You are an enigma. Your body structure, your equipment and the position of our situation. They pose so many questions. And not until those questions are answered, I afraid you couldn’t go yet.”

“What make you think I’m going to answer you?”

“Allow me to demonstrate. Tell me, what your name is and what you are.”

Nate spoke without a second thought. “I was created without a name, but most Pokémon these days call me Nate. I was created as an experimental clone to John Smith the first human hybrid.” His own statements made him dumbfounded. “Why did I say that?”

“We injected you with a truth serum.”

“You son of”

“Got to make sure that you are honest. A lie could get you somewhere unexpected and unpleasant. You must understand.”

“Really hard to do that when you drugged me like that.”

“You have no idea how the world runs at the moment. If you an unknown individual, show up near the gate of a nation would get you kill on sight. And someone with your appearance? No chance.”

“I guess I should be grateful, huh?”

“Not obligate. So half human, but a clone. Interesting. Now, about the device in your possession, what is it?”

“It’s a memory shard, hold all the data of the original John Smith.”

“What kind of data?”

“Basic and advanced instruction on weaponry and armor, combat training, and a few blueprints for maintenance and repair, and also his medical record. Stop this.’

“Just like I thought. Military interests, again. What is the password for the security matrixes within that device?”

“21012981 and 0865698970, 8351739264, 1743984720 for the sub-matrixes. Just please, it’s starting to” He began to feel nauseous.

“Is there any other passcodes and security protocols?”

“No, since one wrong input and the device self-destruct. Can you just stop?”

“What are you doing here at this age and time? Do you time travel or simply remain somewhere.”

“I was put in a stasis chamber, suspended animation. Persevered until I was needed and fully adjusted. I was awakened a few months ago by a band of unknown bandits.”

“Are there more of you?”

“No, none that I know of. I was just a prototype. The scientist mentioned about creating more but after conducting a few tests on me, they stopped.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“Hum, what is your purpose?”

“To protect the innocent from those who mean harm.”

“Really? But who decide the branding of innocent and harm?”

“I am. Please, can you stop?” The back of his neck started to grow stiff.

“Not right now. Who are the bandits that woke you?”

“Slave traders and grave robbers.”

“What happened to them?”

“I killed them.”

“You killed them without order and on your free will?”

“Yes.”

“What made you do that?”

“They, they held a slave captive. I took pity on her.”

“Is she the female that travels with you?”

“Yes. Can I see her now?”

“Sorry, not yet. Why were the knights from the Bandits Kingdom following you?”

“I betrayed them. Left without finishing the deal.”

“What is this deal and what is your relationship with them?”

“Carol had the Remory disease. The Bandit King promise to cure her if I agree to join them until he gains full control of the Outlands.”

“Then why did you stop?”

“His cure took too long and Carol’s state kept getting worse day by day. The first few days she was fine but afterward, it was worse than before. And recently the Bandit King said the cure won’t be completed until one final ingredient is added. And that ingredient is in the Agni nation.”

“Which city? And what is that ingredient?”

“Kencruck. And it is a herb of the sort.”

“Hum. You have no idea. What did he ask for in exchange for this last ingredient of the cure? Because I’m guessing this is when the deal is off.”

That statement had Nate worry but his mouth spoke otherwise. “I helped him and his army invade said city.”

“What is the purpose of invading said city?”

“He never tells.”

“Anna, report this to the Gamma base immediately.’ A voice soon followed. “Yes, sir.”

“So that’s why you left? Fear that you had been tricked, yes?”

“It’s against my purpose so yes.”

“Speaking of which, how many non-bandits did you kill?”

“None, I only kill other bandits in other factions, reinforced the King’s place in the Outland bandits network and helped him abducted a few colonists.”

“What does he do with these colonists?”

“He led them somewhere I don’t know, another place. I have no access to them.”

“Do you know how to get to the main base?”

“No, he keeps the planes’ window closed at all time and has a teleporter that transfers his troops in certain ranges.”

“Yes, I have noticed .The two bandits that were tracking you. Who are they?”

“They are the new recruits. I don’t know who they are. The King has been destroying bandit factions and gathered the remaining fighters for his kingdom for quite some time now. Please stop this. My head. It's beginning to hurt, really bad.”

“You will be fine. Stop fighting back and accept the serum then none shall happen to you. You have a few Infinity type equipment on you, explain.”

“I don’t know what Infinity you are speaking of is. The equipment I got was put in stasis with me.”

“None have touched them but you?”

“The king did, but he returned them to me.”

“Good. Congratulations. We can stop, for now.”

“That’s mean I can see Carol?”

“Not quite yet. There is still one question remain. Not based on truth, but a choice.”

“What do you want with me now?”

“This particular question is rather harsh. But given your nature and what you are, these are the only choices. You will have some time to think, of course. One thing first, you cannot roam free after this.”

“What, that is not your choice to make,” Nate shouted.

“Listen, what good can you get from the world beyond these walls? I have seen this world rotten and corrupted because of creations like you being misused. It’s not your fault.”

“How dare you?”

“Tell me, why did you choose to harm the colonist?”

“Carol would die if I don’t. And I didn’t harm them. I just capture them. I did it as gently as I could.”

“Yes. This is what I see. You captured and let someone else do harm to the innocents. And you justified that with the life of a single innocent soul. You might not have hurt those colonists but that doesn’t mean they are out of harm’s way. They, at the moment, could be enslaved, tortured and killed. And yes, though not directly, but you have harmed the innocent.”

“I”

“I’m a Pokémon of reasons. I’m not judging nor accusing you, just reviewing the situation at hand. You did what you thought was the best way to handle it, I can see that. You desire your own happiness and companionship. And that’s not a bad thing. We all do. But the King saw that and used it against you. He had misused you and warped your purpose. Can you see it now?”

That was something, even the truth serum couldn’t help Nate answer. “Y…es.” He said.

“You didn’t see. Your lack of perspective is not a crime. Just simply the fact that you lack the perspective. And with everything stacks against you, I’m not surprised. But, maybe there is some way for you to change that. So here is my final question for you. Tell me, which one do you prefer?

Be a part of us, the Foundation, Genesis. The starting line of a new Essal-the Arceus forsaken rock you are stepping on. I will give you the full perspective, directions and the necessary resources. From there you can fulfill your purpose. Yes, you cannot undo what has been done. But you can do something to fix it. It may not fully repair everything but at the same things wouldn’t get any worse. And things will gradually get better in another way. This is the chance to prove me and the world wrong. But there is a catch, you will be under surveillance and under our command 24/7. You probably know why.

The same would also apply for the second option but instead of facing a broken and corrupted world head on, you will be staying in a containment center. But you don’t have to worry about making choices, worrying about being controlled by anyone. And forever in a comfortable state.”

“What about Carol?”

“She can stay with you in both options. In addition, you both will be able to live with each other. However, all your actions will be heavily observed and both cannot leave the containment units or the living quarters. We will provide the optimum living conditions for both.”

“I’ll do anything to be with her, even the rest of my life.”

“Hum, but she must agree to this as well. Will you be able to take it if she refuses? If she chooses her own freedom instead of you?” There were silent. “Understood, we will wait it out till she gives the answer.”

“No, if she refuses, just kill me. I have walked this world and seen it all. Without her, there is no place for me. Being alone is horrible enough. And being trapped alone is worse.”

“Hum, that’s extreme but understandable. We shall do it. The most merciful way possible. So, what is the final answer, Nathan?”

“I will join you. As long as you promise to help me fulfill my purpose.”

“Of course. And very well, the paperwork will be finished later. I have separate both of you long enough. Lazarus will show you the way.”

That made he felt a great sense of relief. “Thank you.”

“That’s the least I can do for you and this planet. Sorry for not be able to come up with an ideal solution.”

“Freedom ain’t worth anything if you have to suffer. So it’s good enough. I haven’t learned your name. Who are you?”

“I have told you, does not matter.” The door opened, and the Delphox with a sniper rifle stepped in. “Now Lazarus, take him to the girl.”

“Yes, sir.”

 

In the medical center, inside room 108.

Catherine and Markov were standing at the side of Carol’s bed. The Gardevoir was still sleeping peacefully. Beside her was a silent heart monitor, it no longer beeping like in the past. But even if it did at that moment, the sound would be too weak to bother anyone. 

“She doesn’t look too well,” Catherine said.

“Yes, who would have done this? Her body is falling apart from the inside.” His voice sounded deferent from all the time he spoke with Lucious and Doc.

“Is there anything you can do?”

“I wish I could. I might be one of the best, but I am by no mean a miracle doctor. But it is too late.”

“Shit, the guy is going to be shattered when seeing this.”

“I know, sad isn’t it?” The Alakazam then coughed like mad.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, just old age. So, Catherine. Is it true? The one that responsible for the safety of this Gardevior is a human and Arcanine hybrid?”

“Not sure, he does look like a child of a Machoke having a drunk night out with an Arcenine. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious.”

At that moment, Carol woke up. “Where am I?”

“You are safe,” Markov said.

“Where is Nate?”

“He will be here shortly.”

With doubt, Catherine asked. “Are you sure?”

“Lucious won’t keep him for too long.” The door opened. Markov turned around and saw Nate. “Oh, and you must be.”

“Doesn’t matter what I am, how is she doing?”

“Watch your tone, you don’t know who you are talking to.”

“Lazarus, there is no need. You need to sit down for this. What is your name?”

“Nate.”

“Nathan, sit down. I have troublesome news.” He reached for the pocket of his doctor coat. “Is this what she has been taking?” Markov handled out some pills in his hand.

“How did you.” He reached for his pocket.

“We took the liberty of doing so in order to prevent concealed weapons. But no matter. You are aware of her disease yes?”

“The Remory. I know. Kill slowly. What’s wrong with her now?”

“Yes, and this is what you have been treating her with?”

“That is the only thing given to me by the bandits King.”

“Oh dear.”

“What is the problem? Tell me god damn it! Stop this whole cryptic talk. What is the problem?”

“Watch it, mutat…” Lazarus said.

Markov raised his finger and silenced the Delphox. “Easy. Nathan. This is” he sighed “hard to tell you but this an old cure for the disease.”

“Then what is the problem?”

“It will cure the disease yes. But it would create an even bigger problem for the body. He told you that the cure work slowly and it will be ugly, yes? That was an old assumption, from decades ago. This thing killed even worse than the disease itself. It will destroy the damaged cell along with other. This kind of cure had been banned for quite some time. And the creator was jailed and excited for her mistakes.”

“No, no, it can’t be. It can’t be, he, he said there is a missing ingredient, a herb in the Agni nation.”

“Everyone know the hard truth. The Agni nation is built on lava and desert, not a single flower could grow there. Stop denying it.”

“No, no. It can’t be.”

“You have been tricked. If you she hadn’t taken these, I could save her.”

“No, no…”

“But at this state. I can’t. I’m sorry. But her time is running out, fast.”

“NO.” He grabbed Markov by the neck. Nate’s eyes turned wild.

“Stop that, mutated!” Lazarus pointed the gun barrel at the back of Nate's head. He turned back and hit it with his claws. As he was about to strike Lazarus with it, he was lifted up.

“Calm the fuck down, now!” Said Catherine as she engulfed his head in a purple ball. He struggled to breathe and let go of Markov, scratching his claws on the ball. The Alakazam coughed and wheezed. He leaned on the wall for support and got up. “She is watching.” Catherine continued. Nate turned his head and saw Carol fearful expression. It was just the same as the first time they met. “Don’t let that be the last thing she would ever see.” The ferocious look in Nate’s eyes was gone. “You good? Good, I’m going to drop you down. Do anything nuts, and you’ll regret it! You hear?” She placed him back on the floor and released the orb. He took in the air that he had lost and looked down at Markov.

The Alakazam still managed to keep his cool and gestured Lazarus to stop pointing the gun. “It is fine, Lazarus.” He coughed. “If I was in his shoes, I would have done worse.”

“Please, tell me can you help her in any way?”

“I’m sorry. I only managed to stable her for a while. Here is your last chance together. Both of you, give them space.”

Lazarus said, “Yes, Master.”

Markov stepped back and allowed Nate to approach Carol. He held her hand, eyes were a little teary. “I’m sorry, this is all my fault. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Carol said.

“No, it’s my fault.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Catherine said.

“What do you mean?” Nate turned to her.

“You fucked it up or not, doesn’t matter. What’s important is your time together is short. Don’t waste it. And there is something I can do for the both of you.” She stood in between them and laid her fingers on each of their foreheads.

“What are you doing?”

“Time is short, don’t waste asking. Now, close your eyes. Think of each other.” Catherine began to chant an incantation of some sort. The pace was fast making some of the words impossible to be heard. “Nympha So…ii, Re…eve! Porta…riens ad Se Nos Alliciat! Nympha So…ii, Re…eve! Porta…riens ad Se Nos Alliciat!”

Catherine’s eyes turned white. Nate and Carol's heads jerked up when her hands began to glow. In that brief moment. Both Nate and Carol were silent, but their minds were completely opened. Their thoughts were transferred through Catherine. The speed of images, sound, and feeling passing through her fingertips were faster than any electronic signal any super computer could create. In those short seconds, both of them were experiencing what seem like a lifetime. A lifetime of talking and sharing everything they wish to show other. And once everything was heard, they put themselves in their dreams and desire set in their subconscious. Where no one suffered, hurt, or sad. There is even the vision of a child in there as well. One bore their images and voices. All might be in their heads, but to them, it was as real as it can be.

Catherine’s non-existing nose began to bleed. It was harder for her to keep the connection going. But this was much longer than the first time she had done this. This time was quite different, she can only feel pain and emptiness. Her mind and body is just a vessel. After a few more seconds. They finally opened their eyes, allowing Catherine to break the connection. Catherine then wiped the blood off of her face and stepped back.

“That’s was beautiful, Nate,” Carol said.

“Carol.” He held her close.

They turned to Catherine. “Thank you, Clair,” Carol said.

“Yes, thank you.”

She nodded and said. “Well, I own you one, consider it done. Enjoy the rest of your moment.” She just slowly going out of the room afterward, returning to her quarter. She didn’t cry, she had already seen something like that a long time ago.

Nate got to his knees and they shared one last kiss. She was too weak to even give a passionate one, but what Catherine was done had given them plenty of those. She just wished to give her last goodbye, in real life.  

“Nate, I…love…you.” She said, before slowly closing her eyes, forever.

“No, Carol. No!” He then screamed once, miserably.

And the rest was silent. The heart monitor displayed a long and steady line. The device sent a silent signal to Markov’s fabricator. Markov walked forward to the other side, giving Nate the chance to hold on Carol’s hand. They were frail and still warm, but not for long. Markov examined the readings and let out a long sigh. “She had departed from our world. I’m sorry for your lost.” Nate was still silent. For a moment, he remembered the first time their hand had touched. It was brief back then but now, he lingered on. “Such tragedy. All from the hand of a heartless bandit.” Markov patted on his shoulder. “Worry not, she won’t die, in such, injustice. Seen once in a lifetime is enough for me. We will help you get your revenge, I promise. Help us take down this Bandit King and ease the sorrow for you and much more. But now, just grieve and let it all out.”

After that, a thought crossed his mind. “None of this would have happened if that wretched bandit hasn't dipped his hand in.”

Markov told Lazarus to open the door and leave Nate alone. He placed a small communicator device on the table. “If you need an ear to listen to your problems, feel free to call. I’ll be there to help you.” And he left.

Outside, five minutes later.

“Master. You looked troubled. Why did you use the”

Markov coughed out a small mucus covered device and deconstructed it. “Yes, much, better. You see Lazarus. I have a lot of doubt. And a hunch told me, that it is would be better.” His voice changed back to normal. “For me to, not sound, like myself today. Especially, in front of, those two.”

“I don’t understand, master.”

“You don’t have to. But see, these pills he gave me. It is my former formula. The one that was stolen by my best friend. The formula had been around and banned for over 25 years. It is a surprise to see, freshly made pills with said, formula.”

“You are worry that they have somehow stolen the formula.”

“Yes, a little. But that would not make me “this” worry. That thing mentioned of an ingredient in Agni.” He paused for a long time. “Because my lab had that ingredient, it mentioned of. The last thing to complete the cure. Making it not deadly.”

Lazarus thought for a moment and said. “How does he supposed to know that? And it can’t be coincident.”

“Lately, a lot of, things had lined up perfectly. And that, sicken me even, more. We need, to stop this. And we, need to clean up, this mess, without Lucious knowing. For if he found out, a lot of cards would fall.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“I shall not wait, until all the doubts have been, confirmed. That would be, too late. Got to act, now. We have to use all of our assets, to their fullest potentials.”

“I see, that’s why you planted those ideas in him.”

“It, Lazarus, it. A thing, a tool, a feral. I don’t care, what you refer, it to. It is not, a civilized Pokémon.” Malice were oozing from Markov’s voice.

“Yes, Master.”

“And to your, previous question. No. Not exactly, what I planned. But some parts, are close. If personal experience, had taught me anything. A young Pokémon-well, I don’t know if that, apply for human, but it is only half. With a broken heart, and nothing to lose, it would be much more, gullible therefore easier, to control. Through that, it would serve us well. And since it is, not one of us, I could get away with, so much more. That remind me, about the girl.”

“I have already made the request. She will be transferred to the storage unit shortly. The hybrid is having a hard time letting go of the body. I suppose you have some uses for her in the future.”

“Good, good. A little fail-safe. Not necessary, but wouldn’t do harm to have an extra, leverage. Now all I got to do is, influence that thing more than, Lucious or Anna.”

Lazarus turned to him in surprise. “You don’t trust them?”

“No, I just don’t trust, that thing. I know Lucious and Anna, both are somewhat, idealistic. But thankfully, both are still practical enough and can, in fact, make hard choices. That is fine, to apply to our own employees, and Pokémon. They need some of that, to actually feel, like contributing and working. And not laying around, like useless bums, saying the world is hopeless. But for that thing, I doubt it. It will do more harm than good if it got the regular treatments.

Can you imagine it? Once it becomes, just like us? It will breed, and spread that disgusting DNA, all across Essal, plaguing this planet, once more. Have you seen the disgusting thing, they’ve done to each other? Even in death, that is the only thing in their mind. But luckily, I was fast enough, to prevent such, appalling scenario from happening. The girl was, as good as dead anyway.”

“I agree, Master. So disappointing. Why the humans never left behind something like scholars or professors. Always either a soldier with a primitive mind or war machines. Is there something that we all could examine and study from.”

“Big mistake, Lazarus. Big mistake. You still have, so much to learn. We can never evolve, above those savages, if we keep rolling in their mistakes. Gah. Enough time spent on this, trivial garbage, let’s return to the important tasks at hand. Now, Lazarus, I want you to contact, the insurance team, tell them, that they are in big trouble.”

“Yes, Master. Do I need to personally do “that” afterward?”

“Yes, definitely and make, it clean. Things wouldn’t be this, troublesome if they didn’t, mess up. Now, return to your duties. Thank you for your service.”

“You are too kind, Master. Oh, and I almost forgot, Mr. Lucious wanted to give you this.”

Lazarus handled him a luxurious lighter. Markov opened it, revealing a single red button inside. “Oh, very thoughtful of him. This will, make me feel more, secured around that abomination.”

* * *

 

Author's notes:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is my first ever story so please forgive any possible mistake in the future and help me fix them.

Thanks again and have a pleasant day.

I personally thank you Blade5678 for your continuing support and the suggestion of Nate’s design. Sorry, I could not fit the suggested back-story and story in this. I hope you enjoy the version that I came up with.

 


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. They belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. The songs I reference here belong to their respective artists as well. With that out of the way, please enjoy this piece of fanfiction. 

* * *

 

The SSG Avira-Genesis’s largest known frigate

At the control bridge, a crew of dedicated Beheeyem in Genesis uniform were steering the helm, using nothing but their own minds and numerous holographic screens in front of them. Due to the unusual method of controlling the ship, the bridge was near silence. Suddenly, one Beheeyem pilot “disconnected” from the system and turned his head around.

He said. “Sir, our systems have just detected an anomaly. It appears to have a massive energy signature.”

A Hypno wearing aviation captain attire approach him and responded. “That’s strange. Which nation does that vessel belong to?” The captain then had a closer look at the screen in front of the Beheeyem.

“We don’t know sir. The signature doesn’t seem to match any known aircraft.”

“Have you tried contacting them?”

“Yes, via codes, sir. It looks like they can receive our transmission, but for some reason didn’t respond or send any IFF.”

“In that case, then let me try speaking directly to them.” The captain summoned a headset comm device with his fabricator. The Beheeyem, with his telepathy, gave out a new command to the system and connected it to the captain’s device. The Hypno adjusted a few controls, cleared his throat and spoke. “Unknown vessel. This is captain Ronus from the SSG Avira of the Genesis Corporation. You are in currently our flight path. Please identify yourself and give us permission to pass.” He and the crew waited. After a few seconds, no answer was received. The captain repeated the message and achieved the same result.

“What should we do sir?” The same Beheeyem asked.

“Do not take any risk, go around it. How is our fuel situation?”

The Beheeyem connected his mind to another part of the system. He responded a second later. “We should have enough fuel for that, sir.”

“Good, then proceed to take the alternate route.” The captain pointed forward.

“Sir, yes sir!” All the pilots said in unison.

As the Beheeyem crew about to change the course, a siren went off, blaring with hostility. A few other Beheeyem looked at the numerous new dots on their screens reported. “Sir, there are multiple smaller energy signatures emerged from the unknown vessel. They are approaching us and appearing to be hostile.”

“Yes. I’m aware of that.” The captain put his hand on his chin, thinking. “You said they can receive our signals, correct?”

“Affirmative, sir!”

“Good. If that is the case.” He put both hands behind his back and announced. “Commence protocol B23.”

“Sir, yes sir!” The crew said before activating a new series of holographic interfaces.

While everyone was working on his request, captain Ronus found his seat in the center of the room and activated the communicator once more. This time, he dialed someone else. “Mr. Lucious, we have a little problem.”

 

(The song "Do the evolution" by Pearl Jam begins to play)

Chesterization proudly presents.

A Pokémon fanfiction

** Genesis **

(Song ends)

**Chapter 12: A long flight**

At the starboard side of the frigate, Catherine was sitting and sleeping on a metal bench. Her left fist supported the head, successfully stopped a large amount of drool from falling out of her mouth. Both of her legs spread slightly and her right arm rested on her thigh. On the floor, between her feet, was a half-opened book with strange symbols marked on the leather cover. The Pokémon, agents and workers alike had given her pose a weird look and commented, “That is not very lady-like”. Catherine had anticipated that kind of respond and said “the hell with being lady-like”, before settling on this bench.

When Catherine’s fist was tired of supporting her head, it struck her with a painful sensation. The pain ran across her arm with the speed of a thought and woke her up immediately. Her head sprang up and reflex stretched her left arm. “Oh shit! It’s happening. Shit, shit!” She exclaimed as the blood started flowing back in her numb hand. The pain transformed into something worse a second later. “Damnit!” A whisper curse as her fingers started twitching on their own. Catherine then folded and stretched out her arm. She kept doing so until the unpleasant feeling stopped. When it did, a sense of relief and satisfaction took over. Despite experienced this “situation” during her time in the Outland many times before, there was still something oddly pleasant about going through all of that.

Once the nostalgia feeling and the pain wore off, Catherine searched for her book and placed it on the bench. She stood up, stretched, and popped her knuckles. Pretty much did everything she could to recover from the numbness and sleepiness. A look at the watch on her fabricator, ‘Two hours’, she whispered to herself. After remembering why she was there, Catherine yawned and looked through the bulletproof window in front of her. Nothing had changed since the last time she saw it. She ran over the checklist of things beyond the window one more time: Blue sky on top, a thick layer of cloud under it, and not a sign of a living thing. The last detail made the view more disappointing to her.

Despite knowing that legendaries did not exist in this world anymore, she kept on hoping to catch glimpse of one up here. _“Above the cloud is the realm of the gods”_ , her mother once told and she had been taking those words literally, ever since the ship reached over 50.000 feet. Catherine let out a snicker, laughing at her own naïve mind. She began to wonder why thoughts as pointless as those had appeared in her head. The answer was clear to her. Like many random thoughts throughout her life, they all stemmed from one source, her mother, specifically, the stories. Catherine still, for reasons unknown, had not fully accepted the fact that none of those tales where true. They had and always been, made believe. A world of illusion built to escape the harsh and unforgiving reality. She knew all these facts for a rather long time. Even had lived by the real world’s rules since then, yet, from time to time, Catherine still wished for the opposite. No matter how hard reality trying to prove otherwise, she still believed in those stories. Why someone would believe in something that is obviously wrong, she still could not comprehend that. _“Maybe, they don’t have to be right. Maybe they just need to be there for me to remember her by_.” She thought.

A long drawn breath of defeat left Catherine as she decided to do something other than trapping herself in a state of melancholy. She began to analyze the screen above the window frame. The top screen was displaying the flight path of the ship. Avira, represented by a red moving dot was halfway to its destination, a square named Gamma base. Below the map was the schematic of the vessel. Catherine has then noticed the resemblances between Avira and those spaceships in Rick’s movies. There is the control bridge in front, the long middle section containing all the equipment, cargos, passengers and the thrusters in the back.

Instead of displaying all the technical details only an engineer would be interested in, the schematic focused more on the routes toward the nearest escape pods. About those, Catherine kept asking, how would that help if she stuck in a metal casing, which she had no control over? Yet again, why should she worry? She was told that this ship packed enough firepower to take out a squadron of jet fighters. Moreover, the Foundation agents, she included, would never go down without a fight. The ultimate assuring fact was the secret weapon Genesis possessed. Something so effective that could stop potential threats without the need of firing a single shot from the ship.

Finished with the schematic she looked to her left. “God, they are here.” She commented on the sight of Celeste and Axel in the distance. Both were sitting on another bench. The Sylveon’s head rested against where Axel’s shoulder would be if he had one. One of her ribbon feelers wrapped around his vines. She was sleeping soundly while Axel looked out through the window, deep in thought. “Shit, get a fucking room, would you?” Catherine whispered to herself. “You both got it lucky and it pisses me off.”

 _“Isn’t it nice? You finally have enough spare time for such useless tasks.”_ The malevolent voice said.

_“Fuck off! I’m not in the mood to deal with you.”_

_“Oh, how fascinating. This kind of behavior has never occurred in the Outland. I wonder what had changed. Oh yes, Genesis. I told you this whole Genesis ordeal was a good idea. Like always, I am the one that does all the thinking for you. You should be grateful for the fact that I had brought you this far.”_ She escaped the thought by changing the subject within her head _. “Run away from your troubles again? Oh, Cathy, when will you ever learn?”_

A slap on the shoulder startled her. “Hey, Catherine.”

She looked to her left and saw Axel. “The fuck?” She tried to look behind him. “How did you? What happened to Celeste?”

“She woke up, and do some “ladies’ business”. Saw you nearby so just wanna say hi.” He looked at the window. “So, are you enjoying the view?” Axel said with a smile.

“No, it’s boring as fuck. Clouds, big shock.” She gave him an annoyed glare.

“Wow, harsh.” He picked up her book and sat down beside her.

“You look extra grumpy today, what’s wrong?”

Catherine snatched the book from his hand and said. “You woke me up at three in the morning with a fucking blow horn, told me to get ready, pack all my shit in two minutes and strapped me on an eight hours flight without a bed. So use that fucking brain of your and figure out why.” She pressed her finger on his forehead.

“Okay, you’re not a morning Pokémon then.” Catherine let out an angry grunt. “Though I admit, the announcement was coming right out of nowhere. So your frustration is well, justify.” He summoned a can of coffee and offered it to her. “Here, have some.”

Catherine put down the book and took the drink. “Made me pay for this and I’ll shove it in somewhere nasty.”

That made him scooched away from her. “Jeez, it’s just a sodding can. You can have it for free of course.”

“Fucking appreciate it.” She casually opened the can and drank it.

“You scare me sometimes. You know that?” Catherine was thinking saying “Good.” but decided to keep her silent. She knew that he was trying to cheer her up in his own way. It was not working but she appreciated the thought.

“And you don’t have to swear, you know.” He added.

She used the sleeve to wipe her mouth. “Of course.” She said. “But I don’t want to. It gives everyone the wrong signal.”

“Eh, then what is the right signal?” He crossed his arms, his left eye focused on her body language.

She swallowed a huge gulp of coffee. “I have told you about it. Don’t try to buddy buddy me, I got nothing to give you; And also, don’t fuck with me. That’s the signal. Do you got it this time?”

“Is that so?” Axel put his hand around his chin. “But. You don’t act like that. If anything, you are much friendlier than I expected you to be.”

“Really? Am I that easy going? Damn it! Didn’t pay attention.”

“Pff, why is that a bad thing?” He let out a smile of disbelief.

“It just, you know, you got to be careful. There is all kind of Pokémon on Essal.”

“I see. I take it that you don’t want to be used or tricked. Is that it?”

She shrugged her shoulder. “Pretty much. My uncle always warms me about that. After a few, I might say, encounters in both the Outlands and Celestial, I have to agree with the bastard. On Essal, show too much kindness and trust, you are asking to be fucked over. The world had grown cold. Morales were outweighed by the selfish need to stay alive.”

“Well, actually it had never changed. It’s just easier to see that these days.”

“Oh,” the annoyed look on her face faded away “Mother said it was different back then. She had seen good Pokémon everywhere in the past. I guess she just wanted to comfort me.”

“Well, she is not wrong.” Axel expected a surprised look from Catherine but was denied of it. He assumed she needed something more than that. “There are good Pokémon out there. There are those who willing to face hardship in their own survival to make the lives of those around them easier. They are helping one and another out, making their lives on this miserable world, tolerable.”

“Heh, yeah right.’”

“You know what the best part is? We are protecting them, the good Pokémon on this hellhole we call Essal.” And Catherine finally gave him the look he wanted. He then continued with a friendly smile. “I know it sounds cheesy but that’s what I got after a near twenty years of living in Genesis’s facilities. That crippling mindset of your, it was understandable when you were still out there. However, here, I assure you, the Foundation is nothing like the Outlands. Lucious would never use us. He willing to sacrifice a few million in extra profit so that his employees, we included, have a better working condition.  Sure he still making loads of money, but at least we are all happy.”

 _“Stop that! I got it. He is the god damn miracle this world need.”_ She screamed in her head. However, she did want to believe in what he had said. It sounded so right to her. Somewhat idealistic but it sounded right. And naturally, when something seemed right or too good to be true, Catherine tried finding flaws in it.

Axel continued. “You saw how he takes care of the Pokémon here; even the engineers got their own living ground with room the same size as ours.”

Catherine showed Axel her right palm. “Yes, I got it. But Lucious is not who I worry about. I mean the whole company, Genesis.”

“How so?” Axel was quite surprised to hear that.

“Do you know the reason why Essal is so fucked up right now? It’s because of those who called those nuclear missile strikes.”

“Again, your point?”

“In a company as big as Genesis, what are the chances that there are some assholes among the ranks? Nothing is perfect, there are bound to be a few fuck ups.”

His hand left his chin, his head tilted slightly in denial. “That’s a good point. But they are just a small number.”

She slammed her fist on the bench, spilled out some of the coffee. Her voice was raised. “Everyone says that. The Agni’s mass execution, it was caused by a small number of Pokémon. Only three thousand in the few millions of Pokémon. The Apocalypse war, just a few millions, a fraction to the nine billion Pokémon on Essal. And see how far we get with that? Only less than two billion left.” She sighed. “In this company, I just don’t know.”

“So, you wish to be full on protective mode to prevent that? For the chance that somewhere, somehow, someone might screw you over?” He drew a thin smile. “Well, I would like to say it’s a bit paranoid and ridiculous, but something tells me that I might have to eat my words someday for saying that. So, um, okay.”

“Good, you got the idea.”

“Hum. That sounds like a horrible mindset to be living in, but whatever floats your boat. I won’t argue with you then.” Axel shrugged and about to leave the bench. He had seen Pokémon like her. There was no point in arguing, as their minds were near impossible to change.

Catherine looked down at her hand, rubbing on parts of the tattoo. “But, not so sure if I could stay on that boat. Especially, when” She sighed. “I admit. It’s really comfortable living here and with you guys.”

“Aw, isn’t that sweet.” He got back to the bench.

She gritted her teeth. “Take that back or I shove my fist in your mouth.”

“Okay, jeez, calm the hell down. It’s a joke.”

She ran her hand on the back of her head. “Sorry, kinda tense after all the morning bullshit. Anyway, yeah, I love living in a place where the biggest fucking concern is the bar being taken by a lunatic. Where I can just have a chat or throw jokes around with mercenaries and don’t worry about getting a bullet to the chest. The place where there is breakfast prepared by someone that said, “Good morning dear”, to me, every day.” She closed her eyes. “I want to believe that I’ll be safe.” She stopped for a moment. “Too many good things have happened and I worry if there is something wrong.” Now got her hand caress her forehead, Catherine let out another sigh and continued. “Great now, I just sound like an ungrateful bitch.”

“Nonono. Don’t be. You are not. It’s natural. We all face these kinds of problems in our lives. Come to think of it, It’s probably just the negativity bias in our head.”

“The what now?”

“It’s a natural function within your brain that keeps you safe by make you cautious at all time. Perfectly normal. Well. just enjoy the fact of living here. But don’t be too naïve about it.”

“Oh good, the middle road, the perfect harmony. Yeah, it’s easy to say but really hard to do, Axel. How can I enjoy things in life when I keep getting reminded that I might get fucked over?”

He patted her shoulder. “Like I said it’s natural and like everything else, just give it time to adjust. Took Celeste and me a few months, you should be no different. Things will get better in time. At least around here, I promise”

“Uh huh. We will see about that.” She finished the drink and crushed the can with her Psychic.

After tossing it away, Catherine pointed her finger at him. “Eh about the “comfortable” term, that I used. Don’t get any other idea from that.”

“Of course, I have a girlfriend you know. Don’t flatter yourself.” He put his hand on his chest and gave a signature Snivy smug face.

“Don’t be delusional, ax-hole.”

Axel laughed. “Aren’t we all, a little inside?” He nudged her with his elbow before jumping out of the bench. “And hey. Catherine, I don’t want to sound like prying…”

Catherine completely blocked out his question and pointed her finger at the window. “Oh shit, did you see that fucking thing?” Catherine caught glimpse of a dark spot among the cloud in the distant. A spot that soon concealed itself before Axel could look through the window.

“No, must be your sleepy eyes.” Axel said as he activated his visor and had a second look.

She looked again and noticed the spot had gone. She yawned. “Yeah, probably it.”

Knowing that was the sign for him to leave, Axel said. “You are obviously tired. Just try to get some rest. Well, have fun being paranoid and stressed out Celeste and I are going to do something fun.”

Catherine made a “go away” gesture and grabbed her book. “You do that and see if I care.”

“Sure, bye.” He waved and ran straight to the right, all without batting an eye back at her. Catherine yawned one more and watched as Axel disappeared from sight. Seeing that the dot represented the ship still had a long way to go, she changed her mind and started running. “Hey, Ax-hole, wait up!”

Little did Catherine knew, the dark spot she saw was one vessel from a fleet of Braviary-shaped drones. All of them were hidden in the cloud around Avira, preparing to strike. They opened various compartments on their wings, revealing a great number of cannons and machine guns. The drones’ camera pinned their target sight at crucial parts of the ships. The engine, the bridge, and structure weakness such as windows, all were marked. All these machines needed were a word from their commander and they would fire all the weapons.

A few miles away from the Genesis’s ship, there was a city laid on a flying island. Underneath this island were thick sheets of metal along with an abundance of electric wire roots and strange devices. The metal was quite old, made obvious by a layer of orange rust fused with green and black moss. Above it was a thick glass dome, perfectly covered the upper part of the island. It was there to keep the properly pressurized air inside for its Flying type residents. All of whom were too busy living their lives to notice the Genesis frigate outside of their city. To some of them, the outside world was just sky and cloud. The surface world where their ancestors once lived had all gone up in smoke and they are the only survivors in this world. For that, they should just focus on their own lives filled with repetitions. There are enough machines inside the city to keep the residents busy for years to come.

At the center of that entire island was a tower, a nest that gave the city’s leaders full view of their land and beyond. At the highest point of the tower was a room filled with computer screens mounted everywhere. The room and all the equipment were operated by a team of flying types with bowler hats devices attached to their heads similar to the Ducklett in the Delta base. The only one without the devices was a Honchkrow with a cigarette in his mouth. He was playing caption Ronus’s message on a large computer. He said “Hehe. What on Eden are these intruders think they are? Once the artilleries finish calibrating, destroy them, just like the rest.”

“Yes, sir.” The flying types then concentrated their thoughts and gave the command to the drones. “All were done sir, how should we destroy them?”

“Cut that frigate in half or in smithereens. I don’t care which.” He spat the cigarette to a pot and demanded a nearby Murkrow to give him a newly lit one.

Before the flying types could give the final signal, the screens around the room turned off. A few flying type pressed a couple buttons with their talons. The screen turned back on, with the phrase “system rebooting” on them. The big boss Pokémon seemed to be annoyed with that, but he did not lose his cool. The computers in this city were so old that flaws like this were an everyday occurrence. He was a tad angry because this error happened in the most inconvenient of times. A moment later, he realized that this was not a computer error.

The screen changed into static and blasted an alien high pitch sound. All the flying type covered their head with their wings, a futile attempt to block out the sound. “What is going on? What happened to our system?” The Honchkrow tried screaming over the horrid sound.

“I think someone is in it, sir.” One of the crewmembers replied, struggling to stand on his station.

“Then get them out now!”

“I’m trying, sir, but I can’t concentrate. The noise. It’s so.”

“I don’t care! Get them out! Now!” He screamed while desperately held on to the sides of his head.

“I’m trying, sir.”

The noise stopped, just as sudden as its appearance. The crew calmed down a little; some were still dumbfounded by the audio attack. The collection of black and white dust on the screen then began to auto focused and gathered into a figure. Although it was impossible to make any feature out of it, the figure spoke with utmost clarity. The tone was dripped with insecurity. “Hello, is anyone there?”

The Honchkrow forced a Murkrow to move the microphone closer to him. “Who are you? Identify yourself!”

“I’m Pixel, please to meet ya. This is a nice system you have here, but quite outdated, though.”

He grabbed the mic with his talon. “What on Eden are you doing?” He yelled into the mic.

“Sorry, I cannot answer that. I’m just following orders. You can talk to my boss. Mister Lucious, I got them through.”

“What are you think you…”

Genesis’s voice then took over. “Good day gentlemen. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lucious Genesis the Third. CEO of the Genesis Corporation.”

“I don’t care who you are.” The Honchkrow spat back.

“The owner of the vessel you wished to attack.”

The flying type paused and said. “How dare you speak with me this way?”

“There is no other option. We have been trying to contact you on all frequencies and you have never responded to any of them. You are not a registered nation so it was impossible for us to contact your embassy agencies. This is our only way to talk to you. With a few hundred lives on board, I find it impossible not to hack into your system. For that, I am truly sorry.”

“You are violating our rules.”

“If you wanted to bring laws into this, they the international laws are on my side of the table. We have no intention of at invading your nation. We just simply passed by to transport our workers and security team. We even have decided to take an alternative route to avoid further complication. But the result was your ships prepared to attack us.”

“What are you suggesting? Are you blaming us for this?”

“Not quite. I believe all this was nothing but a misunderstanding. I figured that since your nation had, departed away from this world for so long, you might be unaware of its current rules. I wish to enlighten you about them in another time. However, at this moment, I want you to stop the attack.”

“You speak to me as if I am a child. You arrogant…”

“With all due respect, this is not about me being arrogant or not. This is the lives of my employees, my own family, we are discussing here. And I will not let your fear and ignorance become the cause of their demise.”

“Fear, ignorance? How dare you?” He nearly chewed off the cigarette.

“I don’t pass judgments. I simply just report things I have observed. By lengthening this conversation; you are putting your own Pokémon in danger as well.” The pace of his words accelerated, Lucious was beginning to lose his patience.

“What do my Pokémon have anything to do with, are, are you threatening us?”

“We are not, I assure you that. But you are cutting away your and my options.”

“What options?”

“Options to end this dilemma, peacefully. Now, please stop the attack or something horrible will happen.”

He swiped his wing. “You are not threatening me. Continue with the attack!” He commanded the crew.

“But sir, I cannot send the signal. They had jammed it.” A Murkrow said.

“Use the short wave radio, you ignorant twat!”

Genesis continued. “How disappointing. Your own paranoid has sent you into a blind rage, unable to see what to come. In that case, Pixel, deactivated the anti-gravity field of their island, bring them down.”

He and the rest of the flying type in the room opened their eyes wide in shock. “What, are, you, DOING!!?”

“How far sir?” Pixel asked.

“Until they touch the ground.”

“Yes, sir. Sorry guys, the boss was trying to be nice.”

The screen changed to red and the emblem of the Genesis Corporation popped up. Everyone in the nest and the island then experienced a powerful vibration. The island was shaking violently. Before any of them could find something to hold on to, the entire structure began to fall. Gravity and everything else lost the grip on all the flying types in the dome. In an instance, their feet left the artificial ground and all were pinned to the ceiling of the dome. A mixture of screams and cry of fear flooded the air within. The same thing happened to the crew inside the nest. The wires connected to the bowl devices were all tangled up. Some even wrapped themselves around an unfortunate flying type. As the island reached the halfway point, the wires floated in a state similar to zero gravity. The Honchkrow did his best to grab the microphone, which was flying away from his grasp. Once he got it, he yelled into the microphone. “Damn it, all right. We accept! We accept! Just stop all this! Let my Pokémon live!”

The Genesis emblem disappeared and the fuzzy figure returned to the screens. “Pixel, stop.”

“Yes, sir.”

The island stopped plummeting and forced all the residents to crash on the fake grass floor. The crew inside the nest got back their bearing and caught their breath. Some along with a few residents outside would not see another day. After the flying island slowly gained altitude, Lucious continued. “I usually don’t do death threats, but I shall make an exception this time. We will not let go of our control on your city until we have left the area. Here is my promise. We will not drop your city as long as you promise not to attack us in return. Keep your promise and we will keep ours’. Have I made myself clear?”

The Honchkrow looked at the trashed control room. Every fiber of the Honchkrow’s being tried to suppress a deep feeling of hatred and shame. After admitted defeat, he uttered a quiet “Yes.”

“Good. I really hope that we have met each other in a more, preferable situation.”

He clenched on the mic, nearly snapped it in half. “I’m sure you do. You all can pass and stay away from my city!”

“Oh, we would definitely do that. And we will avoid this flight path in the future for sure, so please, do not worry. Thank you for your cooperation.” Said Lucious as the screens changed back into statics.

Back at the Avira, in a part of the central area, was the entertainment center. This was the place to keep the boredom away from the passengers during long flights. In here, there is something for everyone, and by all means, everyone. There were multiple pool tables, smoking room, a bar, which was usually operated by Gwen when she was on board (not that day, though). A large chunk of its space was a video game arcade, where Catherine found herself stuck in at that moment. Despite the games here were all widely played by mature Pokémon, she still felt weird about staying here. To her, all the flashing neon lights and music were annoying, to say the least. However, there was no word to describe what she was seeing.

Axel and Celeste were playing one of those Asuna dancing game. Both were concentrating on the screen in front of them, all while dancing precisely to the hail of command arrows presented on the screen. Catherine at one point tried to compliment them, but the concept of the game shielded her away from saying that. Especially since the output source of the commands was strangely disturbing to her.  On the screen were a longhaired Gardevoir stood in between the command arrows. The look of said Gardevoir was something that Catherine considered overloaded with synthetic innocent and sweetness. Seeing how both managed to keep smiling while doing such an embarrassing task, Catherine spoke. Or rather, she had to yell to fight off the overly cheery music. “Seriously, this is what you guys consider fun?”

“Come on Catherine try it at least.” Celeste said while maintaining her streak.

“I stand behind my words. You guys at Asuna are weird.” Catherine said.

“At least we embrace it, and everyone loves us for it. Right, Axel?”

“Um, yeah.” His focus was on the screen. The shorter legs were giving him a hard time to follow the arrows.

“And how in the fuck do you keeping up with her?”

“Can’t, answer, that now.” Said Axel as he was getting ready for another chorus.

“I should have stuck with the bench, much less demeaning.” Catherine then looked at a window and saw the edge of the floating island. “What the fuck is that?” She shouted. Her words did not affect both. They, however, reached the ear of the other passengers. Not until everyone in the arcade moved to windows, did Axel and Celeste stopped the game and joined the rest. As the frigate passed by the island, sunlight shone on the dome, turned it into the perfect muse for a pretentious poet. The kind that made them gave hours on end, describing how sunlight would reflect on a giant snow globe in the sky. Along with how that image could represent thousands of things that was wrong or right with the world. Most of the agents and workers were not poets so they could not do much else but looked at the sight in awe.

“Woah.” Axel exclaimed while Catherine kept her arm crossed, trying to comprehend what she was watching. She might not know what it was, but she was definitely satisfied with the scene.

“It’s beautiful.” Celeste said as the ship got a closer look at the island.

“Hey, look, there are tiny Pokémon inside it.” She then jumped up and waved. “Hey, there” she said. She kept doing that with a smile on her face, never knew what had happened to the island and what could have happened to her and all the passengers on Avira.

Move away from the arcade and entertainment center, in a worker break room on Avira. This room was quite simple, there were only a table, two chairs, and a window. Nevertheless, it had one special feature that had drawn Doc and Markov to it, privacy. At the time, they were continuing the same thing that they always do when they met, playing chess. The two brothers were so caught up on the task at hand that even the sight of the floating island could not distract them from it.

Their aged and wrinkled hands commanded two armies of metal chess pieces made from recycled bullet shells. Markov was in control of the black pieces that shaped like Zoaroak and Docs’ were white Lucario. The pieces were fighting on an ammo box battlefield. Both the soldiers and the ground beneath them were showing a clear sign of wearing and rust. They had been fighting the same kind of battle for over fifty years. Despite that, they marched on and followed every command set by Doc and Markov. At the age of supercomputer and hologram, one would expect Doc and Markov to use something more “advanced”. However, both of them had grown too attach to this piece of antique and recently, these pieces of metal soldiers bore new meaning to Doc. The battle was reaching its end, with both sides experiencing great losses. Markov placed his knight down. “Brother, you are getting less, aggressive than usual.” Markov said as he took Doc’s rook.

“Yes. I’m adopting new strategies. You know me. Always changing.”

“Is that so? Well, I have to be, careful then. Although I know for sure, I’m going to lose.”

“Don’t be. Have some unrealistic confidence in yourself. The odds, this time, are pretty high.”

Markov reached his head up and laughed. “Haha, yes brother. But that is, not how it works.”

Doc smiled as well. “Indeed, you have no chance. I simply just make the game relatively longer today so you can still be in it. Spending more quality time with you.”

“Really? Now, why is that? Usually, you go for the kill and talk in between my failure. What changed.”

“It’s because of you. This is the quietest seasonal visit I have ever experienced, no the second, still not as quiet as our first. Normally, you are more talkative. Constantly asking vague philosophical questions to test if I am still a Pokémon or have become a machine. I just got a little curious at your current action. Is my curiosity bothering you? If not then what is bothering you?”

“No, not at all. Your concern is always, welcome. But now, let me see. What seem, to be the bother? To your question, well, many things had caught me, off guard recently. I hate losing, control over my surroundings, so please understand.”

“I understood, as always. Both of us do hate that after all.”

“Glad to see, you are still with me.”

“I am, always. So what had caught you off guard, brother?”

Markov then avoided making eyes contact. “It’s better for you, not to know, right now.”

“Certainly, you must have your reasons. However, hiding it won’t do much help, especially hiding something that bothers someone like you. I am your brother and the lead engineer of Genesis, there must be something that I can do for you.”

“Well, we’ll return to the Gamma base soon, and I will tell you about it, tomorrow. But now, I want to enjoy, the rest of today.”

With suspicion, Doc closed his eye and came up with a subject changer. “Sure thing. I respect your decision. Speaking of which, how are things in Gamma these days?”

“Same old. Everything is locked up. All subjects are secured. If anything goes wrong, then I can’t do much else, to help. Everyone can do my so-called, job. Supervising and reporting, even a college drop out. Nonetheless, it does have its upsides. From time to time, I got the honor to propose new plans concerning the testing and resources. Other than that, nothing special. I wish I could, still, do researchers. Like old times. Now, I just can do a few tasks, mend a few wounds, and diagnose a few special patients. All that, so I can keep, my doctor status. Fewer lives are being saved by me, directly anyway. I am no longer the best doctor on Essal. Yet, strangely, everyone keeps, calling me that. I should be flattered, but it is just a hollow title now. Sad, isn’t it?”

“Yes, being an executive is not as glamorous as it sounds, isn’t it? Are you changing your mind? We always have room for another agent.”

Markov shook his head lightly. “To that, I can only say. No. I’m too old, and not enhanced enough for that. Sorry. Tempting, but no.”

“Understandable respond. I was thinking the same. Give it a few more years and I will retire as well. When we are one hundred years old, we will travel back to Glacier. To see how things had changed. Just like we planned.”

“Oh, I won’t forget that. Hope that I, am still alive at that point.” Markov sighed.

“I’m sure you will. You have made it so hard to die.”

“Yes, I did. Anyway, how long, are you going to, keep this game going?”

“I will do it until my absolute victory of course. Just like before.”

Markov chuckled. “Think again, brother, checkmate.” Said Markov as he slammed down his own rook, trapped Doc’s king in an impossible situation. Doc’s reaction was delayed for a good second. He then tried to analyze the move his brother had made. Once he understood, he said with a smile. “Well, that was unexpected. That must be the 1001st move that I couldn’t see.”

“Well, I have a lot of tricks up in these sleeves.” Doc shot a strange look with his healed eye. “Hehe, just joking, I probably got lucky. There must be a small glitch, in your system and I just happened to benefit from it.”

“Yes, there are so many variables. It must have been my mistake.”

Markov laughed. “That mechanical brain of your, it is far from perfect, isn’t it? So, another game?”

“I don’t see why not?” He swept all the pieces away and began resetting them, while Markov kept a small grin. They continued playing until the captain announced their arrival.

 

The Gamma base, Genesis’s third “official” facility

Built two years after the passing of Genesis the Second, this facility was the first milestone in the effort of rebuilding Essal. Since its construction, the base was serving as a research and development center for Genesis’s top scientists. The facility housed fewer workers and scientists compare to the later bases, but the resourceful mind of each personnel here made up for it. This was where the digital fabrication technology was successfully created, or rather recreated. The methods of reversing the devastating effect of radiation on soil, the indoor weather system, the first generation of artificial intelligent based on real life personalities, and hologram projectors, all were created here. As a result, this base was Lucious’s most proud creation and always would be.

A few years back, Lucious moved the Foundation here and expanded the base, nearly double the amount of space. The expansion gave it another function, a containment center for Essal’s most exotic specimens. Due to the effect of the Apocalypse war, many peculiar feral and phenomenal had appeared. Their appearance brought many opportunities as well as presented numerous threats to Essal. Some specimens were strange and bizarre, but most were dangerous, and they needed to be contained and analyzed. Genesis as a whole believed the specimen all housed unseen potentials-potentials that need to be examined further. Once understood, Genesis will find applications for them and create new technologies from that. On the path to obtaining some of these specimens, the Foundation had come across many anomalies as well. These anomalies had existed long before the Apocalypse war: artifacts, relics, and most importantly the Plates. Regardless of their origin, ferals or relics, after Apocalypse or before, all were stored here, in this maximum-security facility.

One of Lucious most trusted executives and former prime Foundation agent supervised all these activities. His name was Markov Voynich. From the outside, Markov was a simple-minded Alakazam. He appeared to be a traditional type executive, following orders from Lucious and managed the funds and researchers of the facility with integrity. Despite being an excellent surgeon in the practical realm of medical science, he reluctantly took the position. He claimed it would be rude to turn down an offer from the boss himself. However, secretly, that was what he wanted the most. This position gave him something that being a Foundation agent could not. This was a job that even a college dropout could do. Therefore, it gave him plenty of time and he used this time for his true passion, biological research and experiments. He did all this in a secret lab of his own, located a few hundred miles away from the Gamma base, completely free from Genesis’s surveillance. Without restrictions from the corporation, he could and had got away with many horrid experiments: Excessive uses of prohibited chemical on subjects, deliberate mutations, and even torture on some subjects. His reason behind this act was simply: “What Genesis had been doing was morally wrong to some degree. He saw no reason not to go a little further for faster results.” He was not entirely wrong. The results from most of his works were still given to Lucious in the end and they had led to a few interesting discoveries. However, he kept some “special” results for himself. These, he knew for sure that Lucious would not accept or simply “was not ready” for them. In that lab, there were only a few staffs with him. Those he had indoctrinated to do his bidding and a few loyal disciples. He always kept a close eye on them and always ready to eliminate one at the first sign of betrayal.

Yet, no matter what others would label him for his actions, he was still a Pokémon. A Pokémon wishes nothing more but easing the pain of his only remaining family member. An Alakazam who had been tortured, mangled and damaged by a group of idiots that somehow had power over their own nation. To Markov, what he had and been doing was a payback for the world that had wronged his family. However, he was not always thinking about vengeance, he still thinking about what in front of him, his brother. If anything Markov hated more than losing control over his surrounding, was the irony came from his own ignorance. So from time to time, after a time span of four months, he paid his brother a visit. He willing to left all the bloody body parts, mutated flesh and thoughts of revenge behind, just for to visit his own kin. That was the reason why he was at the Avira at the time. At least, that was what everyone in the Delta base knew.

At the entrance of the containment facility in Gamma base, Markov was standing at a security checkpoint, moment after his biometric scan. “Good morning, Mr. Voynich.” The engineer at the checkpoint greeted him. On his forearm was a device projecting a holographic keyboard and screen.

“Morning.” Markov responded.

“Still, haven’t left for you visit sir?”

“Oh, that. Yes, you see, I have just reached the end of my research. I must remain here, a few moments longer. I’m sure my brother will forgive me. Anyhow, he would come to me anyway. Speaking of which, do you have an update on the status of the SSG yet?”

“Oh yes, I completely forgot about the move. Allow me to check.” The engineer typed on his holographic keyboard. “Oh, they will arrive in the next three hours, estimate time of course. The crew is prepping the landing site as we speak.”

“Good, I had better finish, with my research quickly then. It is time, for me to get ready, and greet my brother. We have not met each for so long.”

The engineer bowed to him. “Good luck with that sir. Have a pleasant day.”

“Oh, yes, today will be up most pleasant, for me.” The Markov grinned from ear to ear as he passed through the checkpoint.

* * *

 

Author's notes:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is my first ever story so please forgive any possible mistake in the future and help me fix them.

Thanks again and have a pleasant day.

Sorry for the long delay, I have been experiencing all kind of real life problems. I still have not settled down just yet but I could write, somewhat. The following chapter will arrive in three days so stay tuned.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. They belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. The songs I reference here belong to their respective artists as well. With that out of the way, please enjoy this piece of fanfiction.

* * *

 

Markov was standing in front of a checkpoint. The old Pokémon was repeatedly pushing his palm onto a scanner. Every time he let go, the machine emitted an annoying beep. Old age and blood pressure prevented him from throwing his frustration at the machine. However, everyone had their limit and he was about to reach his. The Kadabra engineer stationed nearby came to his aid.

“Sorry for the inconvenient, sir.  Let me have a look at that.” He connected his crystal pad to the checkpoint.’

“Oh, thank you,” Markov said.

After a few tapping on the pad and checking the data displayed on the screen, the engineer turned to Markov. “The system said you, eh, had checked in already. There must be a glitch in the system. We will fix it immediately.”

Markov opened his eyes wide. “When was the last time, I checked in, recorded of course?”

The engineer typed some more. “Four hours ago. Here it said you have not left since then. The system probably has not registered that you have left.”

A freezing sensation ran down Markov’s spine. Kept his composure, he told the engineer. “Eh, thank you. You don’t have to. I can do it, myself. Lazarus, come.” He wagged his crooked fingers, demanded the Delphox to follow him to the Containment center.

 

(The song "Do the evolution" by Pearl Jam begins to play)

Chesterization proudly presents.

A Pokémon fanfiction

** Genesis **

(Song ends)

 

**Chapter 13: First day on Gamma base**

In a city filled with rubbles and burning wreckages, Catherine found herself leaning next to a large dumpster. She loaded an elemental drive in Cerberus and had a peek from the foul smelling object. She saw Axel walking cautiously on the main street. He passed by Catherine’s alley. The Snivy turned to her general direction, prompted her to get out of his line of sight. Once he lost interest, Axel continued walking forward and held his blade tight. With swift, Catherine teleported and placed herself on the main street, a few feet behind from him. She levitated a few centimeters above ground and floated forward, all without making any noise. Once she was two steps away, Catherine held her breath and aimed Cerberus. When everything had lined up perfectly, she pulled the trigger. Three fiery orbs left the muzzle and went through Axel’s body.

Catherine said. “What the…Ah, fuck!” She turned around and saw a small flash of light in her eyes. A sniper round then instantly pierced through Catherine’s forehead. Her head whiplashes in a violent fashion and pulled her body to the ground. Axel and his sniper rifle appeared on top of a nearby building. After discarding an empty shell, he strapped the weapon on his back and jumped off.  A few seconds later, he landed softly in the protection of his orange sphere. Axel dusted himself off and ran to Catherine’s location. He snapped his finger and the hollow image of him disappeared, left nothing behind but a small levitating orb. Stared down at her body, he said. “Like my decoy, Catherine?” His vine then extended and grabbed the orb.

Catherine slowly got up, one hand rubbing her forehead. She could feel the tips of her fingers moving around a perfectly round hole. Her face was definitely less than amused. “Ouch.” She said in her disinterest voice. “You son of a prick.”

“Oh. Come on, you were trying to shoot me in the back.”

“You told me when things are right, just fucking take it!” She tried to punch him, but the Snivy proved to be too fast for her.

“Take it easy now. That is true in some cases. Nevertheless, when things are too good to be true, it could be a trap. You taught me that, remember?” He touched the middle of his forehead, a smile made his tease obvious.

“I don’t think I deserve the credit.” She tried digging her finger in the hole, but it had been healed.

Axel recalled the holographic orb to his portable digital fabricator. “You would have noticed it if you pay attention to the none-existing shadow of the decoy.”

“Whatever, I’ll pay for this.” She said and clapped her hands. The city around them began to deconstruct into blue dust. First were the rubbles and cracks on the ground, then the objects, buildings soon followed and finally everything turned white. Both closed their eyes and chanted the exit password in their head. They disconnected from the simulation and returned to the separated pods. Catherine exited her pod while making a face. Wished to change her mood, Axel asked. “What do you think of Gamma base so far? This arena is pretty cool huh.”

“Nah, It was okay. Need to check the food court to know the rest, though.”

“Sure, what do you want? My treat, of course.”

“Well, I had a big lunch on board so, how about something light, like ice cream?”

“Um, you’re starting to enjoy those a bit too much.”

“None of your fucking business.”

Inside Gamma base’s Square, Rick and Craig were walking in along a busy street. The LCDs above told them it was still in the afternoon. The residents were trying to finish their work of the day and prepare to enjoy the soon approaching night. The bar-Rick and Craig current destination could be seen at the end of the street. Craig was having a hard time keeping up with the mega fire pig. It was not a surprise since he was relied on a clutch attached to his harpoon gun to get around. His left leg was covered in a blue crystal cast with doodles signed by Bryan and Celeste. Noticed the Monferno lacking behind, Rick stopped and asked. “Hey, you okay there buddy?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, mate. Just a bit sluggish that’s all.”

After waiting for Craig to catch up, Rick said. “What the hell happened to you anyway?”

‘Raiden and I got injured on a mission a few days back. A tank shell hit our building. Blew the bastard with six C20 mines afterward.”

“Damn, is he gonna be alright?”

“Raiden? He will. He is a big boy. The medical ward in Delta will take care of him nicely.”

“Dude, don’t take it lightly. My dad killed Pokémon that way.”

“I know, mate. But worrying won’t help.  Just relax and trust the old doctors.”

“Hope so.” Rick shrugged.

“Yeah, anyway, can’t wait to get some amber juice. Have not got one for so long.”

“Can’t say the same for me, but beer is always good.”

The Northside of the Gamma base’s Square laid a large grassy field, littered with rock tombstones. There was a fancy metal gate that helped determine the entrance. However, the gate failed to address name for this place. Everyone in and outside of Gamma base simply referred this place as the cemetery. Lucious built this as the resting place for Genesis employees and their relatives who had passed away. He always considered them as his own family, so paying tribute in this manner was necessary. That and the fact of burying them on the surface world was not a flattering idea.

That day, Doc had decided to visit the place. It was his first time in years. He came with his usual attire. His coat and shirt were spotless this time. Not a single smear of blood or oil could be seen. He wore some long trousers to cover up the lower body cybernetics. He approached and stood in between the graves in the 4-2 and the 5-2 position. Doc kneeled down and gently placed two flowers on the tombstones. He read the word laser engraved into the stone. The one on the left was Maria Consena and the other Ian Voynich. After whispering something, Doc stood up. He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath, remembering memories left in deep corners of his mind. A loud explosion happened somewhere in the Square broke the serenity he was currently feeling, forced him to open his eyes.

“What the fuck is that?” said Catherine in respond to the explosion a few blocks away from her. Before long, Pokémon started running in terror. One of whom bumped into Catherine. Axel summoned his visor and pressed a few dials on it. “Operator, there is an explosion in the East section of the square. Casualty unknown.” He paused. “Operator, do you read me?” He did not receive any reply, just an empty beep. “Weird, usually there is a machine that put me on hold.”

Catherine ran past him and headed straight to the source of the explosion. “Stop your side jokes and get to it!” When they picked up speed, another explosion went off at the opposite side of the square. Soon another happened followed by another and another.

Rick and Craig were in front of a pub when the chain of explosions set off. “What in the blaze was that?” Craig said before a powerful force along with a burst of hot air blew both of them away. They crashed into a nearby bench, instantly destroyed it. Craig hit and tumbled to the back of the bench. He did not move after his head had hit the ground. Rick, on the other hand, was stuck in the twisted remain of the bench. His regular sports jersey was torn. Chunks of unknown shrapnel stuck inside his flesh. Rick shook his head and got back his bearing. His ears were still ringing the sound of taking a grenade head on. His ears then picked up something different, an unusual battle cry. From the flaming wreckage, which was once the pub, a mega Lucario with a strange metal mask ran through the burning frames. In his hand was a large ax in swinging motion. Rick tried to move but the twisted metal was embracing his short and heavy legs tightly. Realized it was too late, he crossed his arms in front of his face and prepared for the blow. He heard a rustling sound under the screaming of his attacker. A quick click happened and the Lucario was flung to the burning wreckage with a crystal harpoon in his chest. Rick put his arm down and saw Craig’s harpoon gun in a gap of the bench. Craig’s hand was barely holding on to the trigger. His head was dripping with blood, some of which were soaking the pavement underneath him.

“You own me a round, mate,” Craig said with a grin before passing out. The Lucario’s scream came back. Rick began to free himself from the bench. He hastily used his Flamethrower to melt away pieces of the bench. He reached back, grabbed Craig, put the Pokémon on his shoulder before running to the right. The Lucario had come out of the collapsed pub, with the harpoon still in his chest. He turned and saw Rick and Craig were getting away. The bandit knight let out an unsettling howl before getting the ax on his back and used it to chop the harpoon off. He got on all four and ran toward Rick like a wild beast.

Rick turned around. “What in the fuck is this freak’s deal?” Rick summoned his super shotgun and open fired at the Lucario, who dodged it with a wall climb. His current position made it impossible for Rick to turn the shotgun on him. “Son of the bitch.” He cursed before fired at a fire hydrant in between them. The wall of water sprayed by the busted hydrant stopped the Lucario temporarily. With that little distraction, Rick continued extending the gap between them. Or at least find a safe spot to put Craig down and fight this bandit head on with full force.

The Lucario bypassed the water distraction and sped up. Rick then digi-reloaded his shotgun and prepared for a counter attack. The water on the pavement turned into a thick layer of mist and covered a large portion of the area. The mist grew thicker and completely obscured the Lucario’s vision. He stopped and looked around in confusion. A new and strange source of aura had entered the area. Despite his animal instinct and brutality, the bandit’s aura-sensing ability was remained, somewhat. The ability was not as sharp as it was before the transformation and that made it impossible to determine this new aura current location. In addition to that, the aura was constantly moving. A voice in the mist said, “Water shuriken” behind his back. The sharp edge of the shuriken dug into his back. However, he did not howl in pain. Instead, he focused his leftover concentration. More shuriken came, forcing him to take out the ax and started swinging. His retaliation proved futile, as the star shape projectile was moving too fast for a brute, such as himself. “You should give up. This would get really boring.” The voice said. The Lucario let out a scream. The voice seemed to understand what he meant. “I see, I have expected too much from you then. Find, here, I shall make it easy for you.” The mist then slowly disappeared. A figure was made clear, a Greninja wearing a black and red ninja suit. On his left arm was a band with the Foundation logo on it. On his right hand was a katana made of water. “Come. Take your shot, you foul beast.” He adjusted his tongue scarf.

The Lucario shrieked and performed Extremespeed. The move instantly got him a foot away from the Greninja. He quickly moved his ax and cut the water type in half. The Greninja upper half let out what seemingly to be a smirk before turning into water. The bandit knew he had been tricked and frantically looked for the real attacker. The real one appeared on the outside of a large and perfectly round puddle of water. It was then, the Lucario noticed how wet the road under him was. He looked down and realized he was in that puddle. “Hidden power,” the Greninja said before raising his hand. The water immediately jumped from the ground in form of blobs and latched on to the Lucario. The Pokémon violently shook himself, tried his best to get the water off. However, the water refused to let go of the Pokémon’s fur. More of the water then climbed on him and engulfed him completely. The Lucario kneel down, feeling the pressure of the water on his being.

“Fell for such a simple deception, how gullible of you.”  The Greninja curved his finger into a fist and ordered the water to crush the fighting type. In desperation, the Lucario channeled an aura sphere in his hand and threw it. The sphere spun and drilled its way out of the water cocoon and headed for the Greninja. He tried to dodge it, but the attack’s aura nature made it impossible to escape. The Greninja let go his control over the water around the Lucario by released his fist. The agent then used Protect, completely blocked the aura sphere. The Lucario wasted no time to cough away the water and used Extremespeed again. This time, he got a full force punch to the Greninja’s abdomen. The blow launched the Greninja a few feet away and hit the ground. Only when he saw the Greninja slowly getting up did the Lucario spat out water from his mask. The Greninja regained his stance and extended the katana in his hand. He said. “Yes, give me a challenge.”

The Lucario roared while dragging his ax on the ground. He charged toward the Greninja. When the bandit was halfway to the agent, a large rocket pinned him to the side and launched him toward a nearby building. The building collapsed upon itself after the rocket exploded. “You stole my kill.” The Greninja said. Another rocket made it way to the rubble and went off with a bang.

Rick with the rocket launcher came into the Greninja’s view. The fire type said. “Dude, you expect me to just run away and do nothing?”

The LCD above the Square blacked out when Catherine and Axel reached the point of the first explosion. Catherine was about to perform a Flash attack until the screens above displayed red exclamation marks, lighting up the place to some degree. She then looked down and had a look at the carnage. The explosions had devastated the area. All the buildings had turned into burning rubbles and the nearby Pokémon-workers; doctors; grunts; agents were all dead. There were a few bandits’ bodies in the mix as well. Machinegun bullets had maimed and ravaged these corpses into pieces. Axel with his visor was looking for signs of life. The device picked up something and the Snivy immediately react upon it. Catherine saw him running toward a Swanna with a healing hypo was in his hand. However, the flying type took her final breath before Axel could jab the needle inside. Catherine heard the sound of machine gun fire.  “What the fuck is going on?”

Axel pointed and ran toward the sound. “Over there.”

The dim red light made it hard for Catherine to see through. She focused a ball of white energy and threw it upward. The ball exploded similar to a flare and restored the look of day. Because of that, Catherine could finally see the battle. Doc was facing the Bandit King. Miraculously, despite fighting against such opponent, Doc was holding his ground rather well. His sonic cannon gave the king no chance to attack, for no amount of psychic barrier could stop the vibration of sound. For good measure, Doc had littered the surrounding area with his turrets as well. These gadgets were locking on to the King and fired their machine guns non-stop. The King was teleporting all over the battlefield in a desperate attempt to gain a window of opportunity. The King could be seen grinding his teeth in frustration. Saw a chance; he shot a Psybeam at Doc, who quickly rolled away from the attack.

After a quickstep, Doc pulled the trigger and realized his cannon had run dry. It forced him to put his fate on the machinegun turrets while he back-stepped to reload. The King smirked and charged up his psychic orb and launched it at Doc. This time, Doc did not escape it, unharmed. The blast radius of the orb blew Doc a few feet away, tumbling on the hard concrete ground. Doc could hear cracking from within his old bones. The King then picked off the turret, one by one with his Psybeam.

He was charging another Psychic orb until he was interrupted by Axel’s railgun sound. The bullet was trapped by the King’s barrier, just like before. The King looked at Axel. “You again, you are a persistence little Pokémon, aren’t you.” He said while looking at a spinning railgun shell. “You still did not learn your lesson. Remember what happened the last time?” He moved the tip of the shell to Doc’s general direction. When the back of the shell was shown, the King saw a blinking red light. “What?” Before anything else, the shell exploded in his face. The King fell to the ground as parts of his barrier collapsed. Axel then rushed to Doc.

Recovered from the sudden blast, the King stood up, his face all torn and twisted, confirmed him to be indeed, a clone. With his remaining eye, he saw a black blurry fist came straight for him. The clone’s remaining barrier broke after two swipes from Catherine’s aura arms. The clone teleported back and quickly generate a psychic orb. Catherine teleported right beside him and continued with the barrage of punches from her aura arms. The clone, in the midst of panic, concentrated and somehow grabbed Catherine’s aura arms with his psychic energy. Catherine quickly used her normal arm to fire Cerberus. However, the clone’s barrier had already regenerated and deflected the orbs at her arms. The heat made her drop the weapon.

The clone leered at her, said. “Ha, this encounter is very much different than the last time, Catherine.” His knowledge of her name stunned her for a split second. That short time was enough for the clone to redirect his energy into a Psychic blast and knocked Catherine on the ground.  The clone looked down her with a triumph, yet relieved grin. He was about to launched a concentrated attack. The arms on Catherine’s back glowed purple and prepared for retaliation. She wished to prove that it was still her to be what killed the first clone. A loud burst of noise came, after a bright beam of light passed through the clone’s torso, burned whatever organ left in his chest. The clone looked down in shock and took rapid breaths from his non-remaining lung. The remaining body part moved forward Catherine with a hollow look in its eyes. Catherine sprang up.  Her aura hands extended and crushed clone’s head in a quick, forceful clap.

“Hah, psychic or not, you still have to succumb to the power of science,” Doc said with his mechanical arm raised. Axel was nearby, assisted him with the broken rib. Catherine absorbed the arms and ran to Doc’s aid. “Doc, are you okay?” Catherine said. Doc slowly got up. “Yes. I’m fine.” He said while holding on to his side. ‘Got knocked around a bit. Will survive, definitely. Hah. After this, hah, I will have the excuse to replace my bones with proper lightweight shock absorbing materials.’ Another explosion went off from the distance. The trios’ comm devices screamed out.  “This is Boomer from the central area! We are under attack by a powerful mother fucking Alakazam! Send all the back-ups!” Another explosion terminated the comm.

Axel was astonished. “Central area, they are going to the residential buildings. We need to go Catherine. Everyone is in danger.”

Doc shook his head. “No! That’s what they want.”

“They? What do you mean by that?” Axel asked.

“I have received calls like that from the area near the C sector of the Containment facilities and all over the Square. We can’t help them all.”

Axel turned his head in surprise. “The containment center as well?”

“What the fuck are you saying? That means they are spreading. We have to stop them!”

‘All the requests for backup were exclusive to C and above sectors, along with various areas in this Square. B and down, have no signal or responds.”

“Yeah, I’m still with Axel in this one. We got to cover those bitches before things hit south even more.”

“Would you listen for a second? The LCD and alarm systems controls are located within the S unit. That’s mean they are already there.”

“What the fuck are you going with this old man?” Catherine said while Axel was thinking of something.

“Think. Catherine.” Doc said. “They are already in S section, and yet only C and above respond. Add it with the King’s present.”

“Substitute, this is just his decoy.”

“Eh. I need some context behind that line.”

“He is a clone, a puppet. No being can take an explosion to the face and talk after that. This clone is just like the last one. The real King is still out there.”

“Or still, in here the whole time, shutting down the alarms and planted explosive all over the place,” Axel said. Catherine felt a numbing pain in the back of her head. The idea of a fully power King in the area was not what she wanted to be in her mind.

“Precisely, chances are, it is already too late for the agents. All these flashy explosions and attacks are just to make sure the agents would not meddle with whatever the Kingdom wants within the base.”

“If that is the case, what do you think it is? What do they want within the deepest depth of the Containment center?” Axel responded with worried eyes.

“Hard to tell, there are thousands of things in the S containment unit. Each is dangerous, valuable and cryptic in some manners. However, well, extracting things from there is not a matter of pushing a button. Still, it is quite challenging the come up with an assumption that sounds possible. Hum, the most plausible thing right now would be the elemental Plates.”

“The Plates are here?” Catherine said.

“Do not waste time confirming the obvious. The Plates or whatever they want are at stake. If they have one artifact from us, it is impossible to tell the consequences.” Doc summoned a small cube device hooked to a rusted bullet key chain. “Here is the clearance key, travel to the elevator displayed on it. Plug it in and it will take you to the hidden S sector. The check in should be fast. In an emergency like this, no one would do a check up on you.” He then gave it to Axel. “Well, I suggest you get on it, immediately.”

“Why the fuck do we.”

“But, what about the others? The one hiding in the S sector could be the King. We need some reinforcement for that.”

“Negative, with all the distractions going on, you would be wasting your breath and time. Just get there quickly and be careful. The bandits went full force with the attack up here. Chances are, they do not expect a battle at the S unit. Find them, capture or kill them. However, the second option seems more, satisfying.”

“What about the King? That guy is much more powerful than whatever the fuck we faced here.”

“Should you confirm that the King is under there and he is as dangerous as we predict, don’t engage in combat.”

Catherine covered her face with her hands. “Okay, then how the fuck do we stop him?”

“Before you get out of the elevator, use the lockdown function on the key. The password is 2045, that would lock all elevator down there. The S sector is too deep and under several layers of concrete and titanium frames. No amounts of teleportation could get him through those without trapping in solid matter. I repeat, do not fight him, unless it is the last resort.”

“Okay, crazy and shit plan, but that should work. Still, what about you then?”

“No need to worry about me, Catherine. I can survive. Get a warm spot with nice weather is easy. Go, get the bandits and make them pay. Or at least trap them and make them pay later, with extra.”

Catherine shook her head. “Pf busted a fucking rib and still crack a bad joke.”

He let out a laugh and gestured both to get to their next location. “Oh, it is bad no doubt. Now go, and stop them.”

Down at an armory in the C-sector, the doorway to the room was covered with red flesh and mush made of dead feral. In the middle of the doorway was a stream of bullets and volleys of grenades coming from the inside. The surrounding area was littered with feral remains and occasionally half chew grunts and agents corpses. This sector, like all containment sectors in this base, was consisted of nothing but rows on end, filled with cages and solid metal door. Since this was the C sector-the feral containment unit, behind these doors would always be a live specimen, always ferocious and ready to kill. However, that day, all the doors here were opened and the creatures inside were roaming free. The smell was also changed. Usually, the sickening smell of waste filled the air, now there were nothing but the scent of burning flesh and gunpowder now.

Inside the armory or in the C sector in general, there were only three agents left: Celeste; Bryan and Leon. They had been hunkering down in this armory as soon as the first cage burst open and released the beasts within.  Since then, the abundance supply of ammunition in the room was the only mean to survive. Over the course of twenty minutes, they had built a perfect self-sustain cycle for the abominations scraping at the door. They kept firing away at the tight doorway. Waiting for the dead feral to pile up and functioned as a wall to stall the rest while they reloading. After the feral dug through the wall, all would be ready to fire back. Rinse and repeat. With the armory stocked up for cases like these, they had little worry. They would hold out until the supply of beasts completely ran out, that was their plan. It was not ingenious in term of tactics, but that was enough.

“You okay over there?” Celeste said after firing her ice grenade. The frozen flesh created a temporary blockage, which was shattered by the claws of a mutated Zangoose.

“Yeah,” Leon said before signaling Bryan to reload his Gatling guns. “You know, I would be much better if you did not force us to go here and say hi to your pet.” He then let his gun unload a lead storm onto the Zangoose in front and the ferals behind it as well.

“Oh my gosh! Seriously! We are fighting for our lives here and you still bickering about that?”

“We wouldn’t have to if you have NOT taken us here.”

“Just give me a break here. I did not know, okay.” She launched a chain missile.

“Eh, guys.” Bryan jumped in.

“Quiet! Adults are talking!” Leon shouted.

“Don’t shout at him like that!”

“Oh yeah, who’s stopping me, your Axel?”

She pointed her index finger at him. “Don’t drag him into this!”

“Guys, I got something.” Bryan tried to get their attention, but the two continued to fight verbally while firing at the door non-stop. “You guys. STOP IT!” Bryan shouted, silencing both Leon and Celeste. Bryan pushed a button on his comm device, prompting the other to do the same. Soon, they received a call from someone. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

“Oh, yes, yes.” She answered while keeping the cycle running with Leon. “Why didn’t you answer, Bryan?”

“I’m not the one in charge, so sorry.” He said in a rather innocent tone.

“Aw, isn’t that precious? Nevertheless, I have to ask, though. What happen down there?” said the voice from the comm.

“Shit hitting the fan, that’s what.” Leon said.

“Don’t ask. Just go to the armory around the 3 and 4 intersections of the C sector. We need immediate backup. We are holding our own, but don’t know for how long.”

“Roger. We are purging the D sector right now. We should be able to make our way to C sector in twenty minutes or less.”

Celeste said “Oh, Thank you” in a rather disappointed tone.

“Just keep holding your ground. We will get to you soon.” The voice said before disconnecting.

Markov hastily rushed to a special containment room in the S section. Lazarus was not far behind. He entered the room after a series of biometric scans and found a large group of grunt and a few Foundation agents wearing large black helmets inside. They seemed oblivious to the state of emergency that was happening above.

“Mr. Voynich! Why are you here?” A female agent said.

“We need to get the Plates out now!” He shouted, uninterrupted by his usual pauses.

“Please calm down. What seem to be the problem sir?” A male agent said.

Markov took a deep breath. “There is a mole, in our base. Our intelligent told me, that they are after the plates. We need to isolate, and take them, to a safer place.”

“A mole, sir?”

“Yes, and they are attacking, us from above. The situation is looking bleak.”

“What? How is it possible, we…”

Markov swiped his hand in disapproval. “No time for wondering nonsense! Take the plates out now! That is an order.”

The agents in the room recoiled in shock. However, they saluted him. “Sir, yes sir!” Without hesitation, Markov headed to the computer in the center of the room. He typed the keyboard furiously with his crooked fingers. Series of texts and codes appeared on the holographic screen, soon followed by a hub that said “Unlocking the containers”. The agents in the room surrounded Markov and the central computer. The female agent signaled the others to activate hidden switches on the floor. Once Markov finished with the codes, pedestals with bio-signature scanners rose up from the floor. Markov, along with the seven agents commenced the scan in sync. Once all the procedures were completed, the walls in the room opened up and revealed ten large cylinder containers. Seven of which were lit up with a special light. The agents took out the lit containers and placed them on the ground. Loud clanks echoed through the sectors as the heavy casing touched the floor.

“Good, all of you, go with me.” The female agent told the grunts. They did not salute her, just simply formed in line, waiting for the agents to carry the containers. Markov let out a sinister smile and snapped his fingers. “Mr. Voynich, what else do you inquire?” He held his hand together and concentrated. The Grunt and the agents immediately held their head in agony. Their scream of pain echoed through the empty corridors of the S sector.  In one abrupt instance, the screams were silenced.

Markov’s back lit up in the shine of the Mind plate. The image of an old and crooked Markov disappeared and replaced by a younger, standing up straight, Bandit King. One his back were the Mind plate and his scepter. The Lazarus behind him looked down at the blood and brain matter covered floor. The imposter shook his head lightly. “Do you really need to do that? So messy and unnecessary.”

“I never like, these brutes. So mindless and dull. I would be fine, without them.” He took out his staff and pointed it toward the containers.

The Delphox clapped. “Oh. Good for you. Now you have to carry these things on your own.”

“What are you implying by that?” He lifted the staff, covered the containers with his psychic glow, but the containers remained on the ground.

The Lazarus imposter snickered and stretched his arms. “The gravity lock on that thing is a nuisance, isn’t? Those things can only be carrying by a Foundation agent. DNA and all that jazz.”

The King turned around and faced the Delphox. “How come you never tell me that?”

The fire type just shrugged his shoulders and said. “You just ask for how to hack into the place, take over it. Never said anything about carrying the plates out so I don’t feel like telling.  Beside I suggested you not to kill them, didn’t I?”

“Agh” The King tried to concentrate on the plates’ containers and they took forever to take off.

“Have fun with that, my friend.” The Delphox patted his shoulder.

“You, I swear to god, I will kill you.”

The Fake Lazarus let another smirk escaped his fox snout. “Keep thinking like that and I will never die. Haha. Weird thought isn’t it. Randomness aside, I suggest you move faster. I got a feeling this place is about to be habited by something other than corpses and us.”

The King had then felt the disconnection between him and his clone. The feeling of disconnection was not a pleasant one. It was similar to being stabbed in the chest with a thick metal stake. “Argh, my clone, it dead.”

“Yes, and something tells me that those who killed it are looking for you.”

The King did not need the knowledge of his companion to know who that was. The last share of returned memory is enough. The King closed his eyes and commanded the remaining clone of him to clear the area from above.

Back at the central area at the Square, the King’s clone and the bandits were wreaking havoc. It was launching Psychic Orbs all over the area. Let out a taunting laugh every time a structure collapsed on someone. Behind the fallen structure, many agents were being pinned down. They had to rely on the broken barricades for shelter against the relentless attacks from the bandits. The clone was charging two Psychic orbs in his hand. Beside him were the Machamp with four machine guns and a dark cloud with the head of the Zoaroak poked out. A few Nuzleaf bandits were behind them.

The clone raised his voice. “What seem to be the matter? You agents spread destruction, cleaning everything and everyone you see. What happened to you? Why are you huddling up like cowards? Hahaha.” An Ampharos poked out and fired her assault rifle at the Nuzleaf. She was soon ravaged by the Machamp’s assault rifle fire. “Such foolishness, from a group of soulless pawns.” He said before throwing both Psychic orbs at the agents that were trying to get the newly wounded agent out. The orbs exploded and buried the agents in dust.

The clone stared into the distance for a moment; he had received a command from the host. It was time for him to back up the King. He looked down at the Machamp and the Zoaroak. “I have to leave, the trash are all yours. Return when you are finished.” Both nodded. The Machamp reloaded his guns while the Zoaroak generated a dark aura mist around him. The mist the focus and moved around the rubbles. Once the black air reached the hiding agents, the Zoaroak head said, “There”. The Machamp turned to the agents’ location and used the speaker on his chest to blast a thunderous sound. The first wave of sound blasted away a chunk of rubble off. The Machamp took a steadier stance and fired another soundwave blast. A large ice wall rose from the ground and bounced the sound wave back to the sender, pushing the fighting type to the clone’s feet. A handful of ice shards then flew straight into the Nuzleafs’ heads; eliminated them on the spot. Saw the minions on the ground, the clone turned back. “What was that?”

Razor sharp ice shards then flew toward the clone at bullets speed. He raised a psychic barrier and stopped all the shards in their path.  A metal sole then impacted the barrier and shattered all the shards into shining dust. Another sole than slammed through the barrier and crushed the clone ribcage. He landed on the ground with a dull thud. After the quick hit, the unseen agents swiftly ran back to a pile of rubble in a black blur. The clone got up in a strange jerking motion and shouted in a broken tone. ‘Shred her to bit.’ Not knowing who “her” was, the Zoaroak assumed it the agent who had just entered the scene. He turned his black mist into sharp tendrils form and launched it at the rubble the new agent had just run into. However, before the mist could reach half way there, the agent sprinted out of cover.

“Her” was the Weavile with the black jumpsuit and twin large metal claws. Her red eyes were drenched in murderous intent. The Zoaroak manipulated his mist into tendrils and launched chunks of them at her. With swift, she ran by, jumped over, and in short evaded them all. “She dodged everything. That’s impossible!” The Zoaroak cried out. The Machamp recovered from the bounced back attack and fired his guns at her. The Weavile ran to the side. Her speed was quicker than the Machamp and his assault rifles. She then channeled cool air around her body and created several more ice shards. Given the Machamp no time to think she threw all the shards at him. The ice chunks jammed into the muzzles and broke apart the speaker on the Machamp chest. In a split second, the fighting type saw the giant metal claw cut right through the devices on his chest. In that split second, he experienced unbearable pain as the claw stuck into his organs. With a forceful kick, she separated her claw with the Machamp’s body. The blade drew out a large quantity of blood from him. Her weapons had tasted blood, they were demanding more. She knew just who would satisfy their needs. She turned to the one responsible for all this destruction. However, the King’s clone had charged up a Focus Blast orb and launched it at the ground beneath her feet. She dodged to the side, but could not escape the concussion caused by the shockwave.

She lay on her stomach afterward. The clone slowly walked toward her and stepped on her back. “Valiant effort but it does not change anything.” He said and laughed maniacally.

She panted for a moment and said. “You are wrong.”

The clone stomped harder on her. “How amusing, tell me, in what regards?”

“You think we just cleanse everything we see? No, we just cleanse scums like you.” The Weavile agent laughed sarcastically. “You think with powers and brutality, that means you are better than us? That it gives you the right to preach us like children?” The clone gritted its teeth. “No, you are nothing but filth that this world left behind. And now, you are just throwing a tantrum because you don’t accept your fate, or do anything with it. You dare to try to guilt us and judge us while murdering us?” The clone took a bit of force off her back and immediately applied stronger pressure on it. She grunted and continued laughing. “It would be better if you just shut up and kill us like the mindless criminal that you are. Don’t try to put yourself above us. For you will never be. Cowards, pawns, us? We are those that are brave enough to admit the faults within the world and ourselves and we fix them. You, you are just a spoiled brat whose biggest asset is his power. And all you do is crying and whining. We will always be better than you because of it.” Her words reached all the way to the real King under the Square. They had touched something deep within him, something that he hated and resented with a passion. The Weavile continued laughing. “So please, stop preaching us and get on with it.”

“Oh, I will. I will, all right.” The clone had received an order from the King-Kill this Weavile slowly and painfully. He raised his scepter high and aimed the tip at her shoulder. “You know what else you got wrong?” She said. “The thought that you have the upper hand.”

The ground beneath the clone vibrated violently, made him hesitated to bring down the scepter. He looked back and saw the ground burst open by two gigantic maws. The figure under the two maws was Gwendolyn. Her fancy dress was now red battle armor with Genesis’s color scheme. She threw something at the clone, a long kunai knife. The clone’s psychic barrier caught it. However, before the clone could retaliate, the knife let lose a dark and ominous aura that seemingly melted the clone’s barrier. Both the clone and the host have no clue what had just happened. As soon as the knife dropped to the ground, Gwendolyn pulled out a long and mental-tipped whip, with speed that surpassed someone her age. Faster than the clone could react, the tip moved to his back and smashed several bones with a blunt attack. The attack made him dropped the scepter on the Weavile’s back. Gwendolyn with finesse and strength retracted, winded up the whip and immediately used it to cut the clone’s body right in half. Its blood splashed onto the Weavile.

The Zoaroak immediately approached Gwendolyn in his mist form. Gwen just retracted the whip and started spinning it in front of her. The wind from the whip fanned away the dark mist and kept the mist tendrils away. Her left hand glowed in bright. “Dazzling Gleam” she struck her hand out and blasted away the Zoaroark with a shining light. After recovering from the attack, the Dark type saw the other agents began to get away from hiding. If there is a moment for them to retreat, then it was now. The Zoaroak used Night daze, making the area turn pitch black. With the attack masked his escape, he immediately grabbed the Machamp in his mist forms and got away.

“Are you okay, dear?” Gwendolyn said as she offered the Weavile agent her hand. The agent refused and stood up on her own. The Weavile said, “That was not necessary of you, but, thank you.”

“Of course, that is what we agents supposed to do.” All the other agents then started cheering for both of them. Gwendolyn shifted her attention and announced. “Do not celebrate just yet! The enemies are still here, be on your toes and eradicate them all!”

“Yes, madam’ all the agent responded with their weapons rose while the Weavile had a closer look at the remains of the clone. His eyes turned black as the Weavile smashed his head with her oversized claw.

 

Axel was holding the key and used its hologram map as a guideline. They stopped at a checkpoint. All the engineers stationed there was nowhere to be found. “I got a bad feeling about this,” Axel said as he plugged the key to a device on the checkpoint. Catherine just nodded and stood in front of the door.  The elevator behind the checkpoint responded and opened for them. The wall within the elevator changed its color into red. Axel retreated the key and both stepped into the elevator. They went through a long waiting time in the cramped elevator. The sound of screaming, gunfire and beast roar echoed as they went down deeper and deeper. They finally reached the S sector, as the computer voice announced. Once the door opened, what they found were headless bodies laid around the dimly lit hallway. Pools of blood, brain matter and leftover skulls pieces of unfortunate agents were all over the floor.

Catherine gasped in disgust. “What the fuck happened here?”

Axel kneeled down and inspected one of the bodies. “No bullet wound, it looks like, like, like, they were exploded from the inside.”

“That is fucked-up!”

“Who would do that?”

“Could. These bandits would do the same to us if they have the power. And who got all the power.”

It did not take Axel long before he said. “So the King must be around this time. Well, you can handle him right?” He gave her a nervous smile.

“I don’t know. Last time was just a part of him.”

“Okay, not as assuring as I hope.” He plugged the key to the elevator panel and activated the lock. The elevator’s lights turned off completely. Axel took a deep breath before shoving the key into his jacket’s pocket.

“You look nervous, what’s wrong?” Catherine asked.

“This King could have kill Celeste and me through head explosions. And he decided to toy with us. Don’t know if I should feel lucky or disturb. But certainly uneasy.”

“Here, let me fix that for you, feel pissed off.” She pointed at him.

Axel let out a genuine smile. “How typical of you. But I guess it works.”

“Good, now that you all balled up, what’s the plan? Cause I don’t know how to prevent head explosions.”

“Damn, I was hoping to ask you the same. Okay, let’s find some plans for countering while going through the vents.” Axel proceeded to open up a nearby vent and got in.

“Seriously?”

“Or you prefer a cardboard box.” His voice seemed lighter and more like himself now.

“Pokémon are dying, focus.”

“So you want to parade around with a psychic murderer? Would not help much if you die yourself.”

“Fine, move over. Swear to god if that tail of your slap me. I will kill you.”

 

The King froze in terror. “My other clone had just died.”

“Well, that is unfortunate. You should have listened to me.”

The King then used his own communicator. “This is the King, calling all Bandit Knights, we need to speed up the process.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The Delphox wagged his finger.

With an annoyed look, the King said. “Retreat, now.” The King stomped his feet in frustration.

“Now, now, don’t be that way. You are about to get the power you always wanted. Now don’t fret and move these containers out.”

The King then spent quite some time to adjust the containers and move them through a tight corridor. “Why is everything, so small in this place?”

“Well, they have thought of a situation like this. I told you. You shouldn’t have killed those grunts.”

“I would if you had given me a warning.”

“I do suggestions, not warnings. And I suggest you be careful in the next few steps.” The Delphox say before walking backward.

“What, where are you going?”

“I have some other places to go. I will be seeing you.”

The King turned to his original path. The corridor’s end was close. He walked passed it and enter the intersection. He stopped to consider the Delphox’s words. _“Nothing but darkness,”_ he thought. A clanking sound then came toward him.

From the dark shadow beyond the next corridor, came a burst of flame. The King’s barrier blocked it, as expected. The clanking sound got more rapid; from the darkness, Nate appeared. He lunged himself at the King, in his hand was a katana with part of a pistol for the hilt. Around his abdomen was a belt that generated a blue aura around him. The King dropped the Plates’ containers and raised his palm. He concentrated on lifting the hybrid up and made his head explode, but Nate still advanced forward with steadfast determination. This caught the King off guard and dodged to the left, escaping a forward slash from Nate. The tip bypassed the invisible psychic barrier and cut the King’s cheek. Nate landed and immediately swung his blade to his right.

He felt a powerful vibration and heard a loud clank. The King had blocked his attack with his scepter. Used his psychic power, the King removed the three orbs on it. He showed Nate a twisted grin before forcefully pushed his scepter forward. Nate was stunned, but he instantly retaliated with another vertical slash. The King intercepted the second blow with his scepter. He moved his wrist and Nate’s blade was no longer blocking his view. He said. “Oh look, isn’t it the traitor? Judging from the fact, you are not in pieces; that means he allowed you, to become his pawn. Hehehe I am not surprised.”

Nate put more force into his weapon, but he could not feel his blade. The King just smiled. “How amusing that you think you could stand against me.” Nate’s blade cracked the scepter. A metallic gleam escaped from the cracks. The King pushed Nate back and slammed the scepter tip at the floor. The scepter broke open from the impact.

It was not the scepter that was broken, but rather the outer shell of it. The impact left behind the blade of a rapier, while the broken pieces fell to the floor. The King took a quick step back and got himself in a fencing stance. Then he gestured Nate to battle him. The fire type charged forward.

They crossed blades. Nate started with his vicious sword strikes. All, however, was rendered ineffective as the King’s thin blade miraculously managed to absorb blow after blow. Losing patience, Nate used his left hand to slash the King with a fire claws strike.  Anticipated the obvious attack, the King teleported back and separated from Nate. Nate’s claws missed and threw him off balance for a moment. The King then teleported forward and left a deep cut on Nate’s arm at rapid speed. He kept taunting Nate with his laugh, all while teleporting back and avoiding Nate’s attack. Nate, feeling the burning pain and tired of being played, slashed both his flame-infused claw and sword in a frenzy.

In a split second, the sword in his hand stopped moving. He looked to his right and saw his blade was bind by the King’s rapier, around the thin blade was purple psychic glow. With a flick of his wrist, Nate’s blade snapped off. The impact staggered Nate and gave the King the chance to wrap his hand around the opponent’s neck. He squeezed tight and forced Nate to turn the fire on his palm off. “Like I said, how amusing. What is that surprised, look on your mongrel face? I have the technique of the Sword Surgeon. I can hold my own, against low life parasites like you. You think everyone is supposed to be afraid of you and your kind? The devastation caused by your barbaric race would be nothing compare to things to come.”

Once Nate’s eyes began to collapse, the King threw the hybrid down at the ground and stomped on his chest. He then put the tip of his rapier on Nate’s neck. “Feeling the cool steel along your tainted vein? I will give you the honor of being executed just like my pet.” He dug the blade into his neck, enough to draw blood, but not immediately lethal. Nate nervous pulse vibrated the tip of the rapier and gushed more blood out. “I gave it all the things it would need, but still, in the end, it bit me, ran away and mated. Suffice to say it received what it deserved. And you shall have yours.” The King took out his blade out of Nate’s neck. He held it sideway and charged a thick layer of bright psychic glow along the rapier. “Psycho cut.” He swirled his blade, but before it could come down. A bullet impacted his blade, a sniper round. The King was stunned until he saw some light at the corridor to his right. “Huh. Oh, I see.”

From the source of the bullet, Markov yelled. “Return fire.” Lazarus, who was beside him, did not respond and just pull the trigger. This time, the King saw the oncoming bullet and split it in half with his blade. The bandit leader raised his hand. He used his psychic hold on them but yielded no effect for both were wearing the same belts as Nate’s. Lazarus fired another round from his sniper rifle. The King used psychic to catch and sent the bullet straight back to Lazarus’s sniper rifle. The projectile went in the muzzle and exploded the rifle’s base. Lazarus was knocked down.

“I see. I wonder if you were trying to save this incest or he is just a decoy. Well, things will end here, father.” The King levitated sharp pieces of Nate’s broken blade and aimed it at Markov. Markov just ran away, without a look at his most trusted disciple and chief minion. 

The King accelerated the pieces with his Psychic and flung them at Markov. Catherine appeared in front of them and stopped them with her Barrier glass. Catherine shattered the Barrier and used them as projectiles against the King. The King casually used Nate’s body as a meat shield to block the attack. Catherine had to deconstruct the glass before they could do any harm.

After tossing Nate’s body to the side, he pointed at Catherine. “You!” The King said before launched a Psybeam at her.  She teleported away from the attack and shout, “Fuck him up!” Catherine signaled Axel to dash forward with his blade. To ensure the kill, Catherine called out her aura and charged toward the King. As she about to let her battle cry escape, the King turned around. His speed was much faster than the eye can see. Axel jumped and prepared to slice the Alakazam in half. The King swiftly moved his weapon. The rapier followed his command and broke Axel digital fabricated blade into pieces of glimmering crystal. He then immediately punched Axel’s abdomen with his other hand, made the Snivy let out a whimpering grunt.

The sight of Axel being sucker punched like that made Catherine stump for a millisecond, but the voice inside her reassure her of the abilities and forced her to stick with the plan. “Mindlock” The King whispered, with his back still turned at Catherine. The mind plate on his back shone brightly. The voice was silenced when Catherine feel a powerful vice on her neck. “Hehe, you think I am crazy enough to keep someone like Cain around without a purpose?” Before she could realize what he meant, the force on her neck lifted her up and brought her closer to the King. She could not express her disbelief through words, just the sound when she struggles to breathe with a clamped windpipe. The King moved his index finger and brought Catherine closer.

“Hum, and I was dying to meet you. Such a disappointment. I guess Cain had spoiled me a little. Still, it is quite foolish yet courageous of you to face me head on like this.” He scanned her. “So, you are a Keeper, just like him. Too bad, I could have kept you, if not for having a much stronger guard dog, or monkey.” He stabbed the tip of the rapier into her chest. “Next time, we will see each other in hell.” He then dropped her on the floor and slid the rapier out. The blade had a thin and shining coat of blood “And I will enjoy torturing you when that moment comes.” She lied on the cold floor and struggled to breathe with a heavy pain in her chest. That brought back memory in her, terrible memory. She could not hear much afterward beside the disgusting sound of her breathing.

He turned to Axel. “Oh, it’s a pleasure to meet you again. Axel isn’t it. My father has a lot of plans in store for you. But for now, I want you to help me with this.” He used his psychic to extended Axel’s vine and sewed it along the containers of the plates. And with the present of his DNA, the containers cooperated and became lighter. He looked around and saw Markov had gone. Without the ability to locate him, it would be a waste of time, he thought. With screaming of the bandits above, telling that the agents are gaining back their ground, he decided it was best to return. He floated by Catherine’s vision and moved back to an elevator.  Noticed that it was locked down, lifted his hand up. He used the heavy containers to punch a hole on the elevator ceiling and got himself out. With that, he floated upward until he faced the hole that he and his bandits had created a few days back.

At the surface of the base

The gigantic hatch that was usually covered by a veil of holographic images was now nothing but smoke, craters, and debris of a few Killian helicopters scatter over the hatch. Hovering above it were a dozen of bandit-made flying vehicles. All of them buzzing around the hatch, like a swarm of fly around a large, open wound. The pilots within them received a transmission from within the base and began to charge up their cannons. Their target was the middle section of the hatch.

From the wreckage of one Killian helicopter, a small figure crawled his way out. It was Rave, this time covering in sticky white foam. “Holy crap, I’m alive. Thank you mysterious jizz foam.” He slowly got away from the helicopter and saw the cannons half way charged. Noticed that the attack was far from over, He stayed close to the ground, wondering if they could see a Charmelon like marshmallows in the field of smoke, ashes, and craters.

The cannons let it all out. The impact made by the shots made the earth trembled and deafened Rave. He covered his ears and stay still. Once the cannons seized firing and the smoke from the new hole began to rise, two figures along with seven containers escaped the hatch. They then flew toward one of the helicopters. A few second later, a handful of bandits got out of the hole and joined the helicopters. Just as sudden as their arrival, the helicopters flew up and disappeared in a flash of purple light, left behind nothing but devastation.

Catherine woke up in the medical wing, with a lingering pain in her chest. She opened her eyes and saw everything in a blur. Her head and body felt numb and weak. How long had she been out, she thought. She could hear the sound of music besides her. She turned her head or at least her vision to her left. A large chunk of green and a part of the desk could be seen. With effort, she turned to the other direction and found a large orange and bulky Pokémon. She did not need her full vision to know who that was.

“Hey, looks who finally awake.  How ya doing?” Rick said. She wished to say something to him, but she could still feel something blocking her throats. She could not do much but let out a cough. “Hey, don’t have to answer. And don’t try too hard. The bruise is still there, gonna need some work with that. Just try to relax for now.”

Denied his suggestion, she tried to sit upright. Rick, immediately support her with his left arm. “Hey be careful, you gonna mess up your internal organ or some crap.” Once upright, Catherine felt it easier to breathe. She gestured Rick to give her something to communicate, Rick gave her crystal device and told her to type in it. After a few seconds, she gave it back to him. The words read. “What happened? Where is everybody?”

“Eh, that is a tough one to wrap up. You might wanna narrow it down.”

“Why am I here?”

“Well, don’t know if you know or remember it but, the base was under attack.”

“I remember. When did it happen?”

“Six days ago.” With little energy she had, Catherine tried to open her eyes wide.

“What kind of injury do I have?”

“Eh, don’t have technical term but basically the king’s blade stab through your chest, nearly touch the heart and dug into one of your lungs. With you were being choked before, your brain had not received oxygen or something for a short while. Lucky that Markov came just in time and prevented you from being brain dead.”

The thought of being so close to death shook her in the bones. “Markov saved me?”

“Yeah, how the hell did you get to the S sector anyway? That and go toe to toe with the King, lucky that Essal’s best doctor was there to help you.”

 _“So the one that I saved was Markov?”_ Catherine thought to herself while looking down.

“Yeah, did you come up with something? What are ya thinking?”

“No. I remember something the King said that bothered me. It slipped my mind now.”

“It would come back eventually. So, if you need anything else, just type. I am pretty much your nurse for today.”

Her sarcastic mindset wanted her to request something that would take all the numbness in her body away. Or at least, removed the ugly tubes that connected to her arms, stomach and something in between her legs. But, she put her focus on the important things.

“Why? Where is Mercy?”

“She is taking care of patients in serious conditions. She been watching you all day yesterday, but as soon as you began to recover, she moves on to another. Busy week for all doctor and nurses, I guess.”

“How many did we lose?”

“About that, don’t want to go into details, but it was pretty bad. Gamma base was a mess, and the casualty had driven everyone nuts. Now they all want to take revenge on the King and search for him everywhere. Genesis is pretty upset too. He talking about a proper funeral after getting rid of the bandit King. Never seen he put a ceremony after well, eradication.”

“Let the body unbury and decay?”

“Nope, he wanted them to rest in peace before anything else. We got good stasis tech, nothing gonna be rot before we get the head of that son of a bitch home.”

Catherine remembered something. “What about Axel, where is him? Did he?”

“No, he is still alive, I think.”

“You think?”

“The King took him away, so it’s kinda hard to tell.”

* * *

 

Author's notes:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is my first ever story so please forgive any possible mistake in the future and help me fix them.

Thanks again and have a pleasant day.

 


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. They belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. The songs I reference here belong to their respective artists as well. With that out of the way, please enjoy this piece of fanfiction.

* * *

 

Catherine was inside a Killian plane. Her hand held a ritual knife branded with strange runes and Unown symbols. She looked at the artifact and making click noises with her tongue. This piece of blessed metal had taken a considerable amount of credit due to its origin (which was ironic since this was a stolen artifact from Celestial). With the amount of credits she had spent and the uncertainty surrounding it, Catherine began to wonder whether if the knife was worth it or not. However, after the incident, she is willing to try anything. Shoved the knife in her pocket, Catherine asked the Pokémon beside her. “Hey sunshine girl, still holding up?”

Celeste answered with a nod and a badly put together grin.

(The song "Do the evolution" by Pearl Jam begins to play)

Chesterization proudly presents.

A Pokémon fanfiction

** Genesis **

(Song ends)

**Chapter 14: Friction**

After the attack at Gamma base, things had changed. Security within all facilities had gotten tighter-more screening, scans and time restrictions; changes that Doc claimed to be “futile”. However, he admitted giving the residents of Genesis a sense of reinforced security (albeit false) was much needed at the time. While the residents were calm by the illusion of security, Genesis agents focused on providing permanent security in the long run-locate and eradicate the Bandit Kingdom. In order to so, Lucious had commanded the remaining agents to perform searches all across the Outland. “Leaving no patch of sand untouched” was what he told them. A difficult task considering the number of square spaces the Outland took on the world maps. The number of agents and grunts reduced to nearly half after the attack only make this particularly hard for the Gamma base. Because of the shortage of workforce, the standard team of agents at Gamma had been reduced to three members. Yet, despite all their effort, there was no sign of the Bandit Kingdom. All the previous bases were all empty. As if, the bandits had planned all the events and evacuated in advance.

Catherine had fully recovered from her injury and joined the search a few weeks back. Celeste, for unexplained reasons, decided to merge with Catherine’s team. She said she wanted to make sure Catherine’s injuries would not act up and cause harm. Catherine knew that was not the case. However, whatever the true motive was, she did not care (for the most part). Celeste’s present was uplifting to her. She knew it was a bad thing to feel, especially at times like this, but she could not lie. Catherine’s spirit and body were damaged greatly by recent turns of events. The King and his underlings infiltrated Genesis; the Plates had been stolen; Axel’s abduction; her third near death experience: All were testimonies of how little control she and Genesis had over the bandit threats. So naturally, seeing someone who was just as shaken (if not more) gave Catherine a reason to pick herself up. It was no longer for her sake, but for someone else as well. She needed to keep the spirit up.

That day, Catherine’s team, which consisted of her, Rick and Celeste, was doing the daily patrol at an area to the East. Doc had reluctantly stayed and worked as an operator at the base, as soon as the searches began. And like every morning in the past few weeks, Doc’s raspy mechanical voice would come through the plane’s speaker. “Good morning, everyone. Today, I will assign you to the 58A59 sector. Oh, by science, this job is so horrendous. You all know what to do.”

“Roger that, old man.” Rave said before steering the Killian plane to its new destination.

The process then repeated itself. The team would get off the plane, carry out special equipment, scan the area for hidden bases with said equipment and continue until sunset (with rests in between). After a day under the sun, the team did not discover anything. There were no hatches that lead to the underground, no camp, no building, nothing at all. The team returned to the plane and flung their equipment on the plane’s haul. Catherine tossed her sweat-damped coat at the wing and sat flat on the sandy ground. She pummeled her fist at the earth. “Shit. Another day and nothing turn up.”

“Just calm down, eventually, we will get those jackasses,” Rick said and hopped on the plane. Seconds later, he came out with an icebox and dropped it near Catherine. As she opened it, a mist of cold air flew out and gently caressed her face. This time, the box was not filled with beer or other beverages, just regular bottles of water and ice.

Rick gestured her to toss him a bottle, which she obliged. He said before cracking the thing open. “We’ll just stick to the old plan. Get hydrate, take a break, and save the world.”

Celeste took a bottle. “I wish it was that simple Rick.” She said before drinking it in silence.

Catherine smirked and proceeded to shower her head with one bottle. “Well, he is not wrong, here, to the old plan.” She then made a toast with the remaining water.

Afterward, the crew jumped in and the plane set its courses back to base. As the Killian plane was passing through the desert, it suddenly shook. Annoyed with the shock, Catherine yelled from her seat. “What the flying fuck is that?”

“Eh, I just saw a car popped into existence.” Rave said.

“What the hell are you” Before she could complete her sentence, Catherine heard shots fired from the plane’s cannons. Rave’s voice then blasted in the cabin. “Everybody holds on to your butts, we got bandits.” The cabin vibrated and churned some more while the cannons were firing non-stop. “Suck on this, bitches!” screamed Rave as he kept his finger glued to the trigger.

After a few minutes of holding onto the railing for dear life, the team relaxed when the plane became stable and Rave announced that the threat had been dealt with. Once the plane had finished its landing, the side door opened. It let in the all-too-familiar scent of burning metal and flesh. Catherine and Rick, with weapons in hands slowly made their way to the doorway. Outside was the remains of several bandits and their vehicles. The crown emblem on these vehicles made the sight a pleasant surprise for Catherine and a jolt of excitement to Rick. “Holy shit! Rave, you deserve a drink.” Rick hopped out of the plane while laughing. “Hahaha, how does it feel, you cockblocking son of bitches?” He said as he crushed the skull of one bandit. Catherine and Celeste soon exited the plane. Instead of insulting the dead body of bandits, they focused on piecing together what had happened. Celeste saw a long tire trail that ran past the wreckages and to the horizon, a small distance away from a setting sun. Celeste then contacted Rave, asked for what he had seen. Catherine, on the other hand, looked behind the destroyed vehicles and noticed numerous tired tracks that seem to come out of nowhere. “I don’t know, one second, I saw an Infinity car just popped the hell into view, then it was followed by a bunch of bandits.” Rave said as Catherine approaching the end of the tire tracks.

Celeste turned around and could not find Catherine. “Catherine, where are you?” Celeste called out with her eyes opened wide in panic. Rick soon turned and looked around in confusion. “What the hell?” He said.

“I’m here. Behind this illusionary wall.” Her voice came from nowhere.

“What?” Rick said.

“Just move forward. You will see.”

Both got to the part where Catherine’s footprints and the tracks disappeared. Rick reached his hand out and watched as his hand seemingly disappeared into thin air. “Holy crap. So, it must be an illusionary wall, huh.” He walked forward, out of Celeste’s sight.“Holy shit.” Exclaimed Rick as he witnessed what this illusionary wall was hiding.

Celeste passed through it and saw a garden overgrown with flowers under her feet. The air inside was clear, conditioned and pleasant. She then traced the tire tracks. They all led back to four stories building at the center of the garden. The building cladded with blue glass from the first floor up. On the top floor, a gigantic symbol of the Infinity Corporation was present. Celeste had an odd sensation of familiarity about the place. It felt like the Square at Genesis bases. Infinity vehicles occupied the front parking lot; except for one that crashed to the front door of the building. Surrounding all neatly parked vehicles were corpses with an unsuspected expression on their faces.

Catherine was inspecting one of the bodies. The poor soul’s throat was slit. She touched the long yet narrow wound. The blood was not yet hardened. Catherine then saw a shadow looming over her. It was Celeste. “These are fresh kills. Whoever did this are nearby.” The Kirlia said before standing up.

Celeste thought of something for a moment then contacted Rave. “Rave return to base and tell everyone of this location. We’re going to do some investigation.”

Surprised with Celeste decision, Catherine asked. “Are you sure about that, sunshine girl? Maybe, we need some backup for this one.”

Rick approached the two. “Nah, don’t think we are going to need back up. There are no bandit vehicles left. Chances are they are all dead.”

“What if, some are left behind?” Catherine asked.

Celeste refused. “If that is the case, we have tipped them off.” She paused for a moment as if conjuring up something in her mind. “Eventually, they are going to come out. The base is half an hour away, enough time for they to make an escape. Give the bandits time is not an option. We must go in and make sure they stay there.”

Rick said. “Well, when you put it that way, I’m in. First blood at these sumbitches is always welcome.

Catherine said, “What you are suggesting is infinitely more dangerous than just waiting.”

Rick then backed Celeste up. “They don’t have a huge convoy. Chances are the ringleader is not here.  We could take them. Besides, I do want to see what these bandits were doing.”

 _“Then why don’t we wait for Genesis.”_ was what Catherine had in her mind. However, she did not say it. With Rick on Celeste’s side, it might just complicate things up. Celeste wanted to get in and investigate, first and before Genesis and Catherine were going to let her have it. The Sylveon was hiding something and she could feel it.

“Are you up for this Catherine?” Celeste asked.

“Of course, I’m up for some killing. I just I like it better when you act like your old self and not like Rick or me.”

“Oh, I will after I make these bandits pay,” Celeste said before stormed in and wormed her way in the gap between the crashed car and front door. Rick shrugged his shoulders and joined Celeste, leaving Catherine behind with the bodies. Catherine wiped the blood of the unfortunate soul on her coat and teleported to the front door.

Once entered the building, the first thing they noticed was the trashed interior. The desks, vending machine and furniture were misplaced and scattered all over the place. Floor, window, and walls were covered with bullet holes. Some were old some were new. There were bodies in the corner here and there, oozing out the terrible smell of rot. All these bodies were wearing blue and white Infinity uniforms, similar to those outside. However, these bodies had been here for a long time. Their eyes were deflated and hollow. The messy bullet wounds one them were blackened and ripped wide open by bacteria. The team put on their gas masks and moved forward. From there, Rick saw a power-offed information hub and approached it. He restarted the long turn off hub with a few tricks he picked up from his cousin. He busted opened the power box and plucked out a few wires. He connected these wires to his fabricator and started to transfer electricity to the hub. Once, the hub turned on, he ran his oversized fingers across the keyboard, hoping to find some answer. A Glaceon appeared on the screen and said. “Welcome to Sanctuary. How can I help you?”

“Guys, check this out,” Rick called.

Catherine said, “You don’t need to yell. We are just a few feet away from you.”

The Glaceon on the screen said. “Processing request, I’m sorry but “Guys, check this out.” Is not a valid request, please, retry.”

Rick pressed a button on the hub. “God, these things are dumb as hell.” He muttered under his breath.

The Glaceon nodded. “Processing”

“Cancel.” Rick pressed the button, making the image turned stiff. Once Catherine and Celeste were near, Rick continued. “Computer, what is this place?”

“Processing request. This is Sanctuary. A facility built by Infinity Corporation. Serve as a temporary shelter for refugee in the Outland. Are you a refu”

Rick turned off the hub and stomped the floor. “Son of a bitch! They are ripping us off!”

Celeste pondered. “I don’t think that is the least of our worries. That does not explain the bandits in here.”

Catherine said. “Fuck if I know, but I think the Infinity and these bandits are in cahoots. That would explain a whole fucking lot.”

Celeste said. “Then why did they kill Infinity employees and that little chase? No, I think there are more to this. We just need to dig deeper.”

The group then went up the stair and continued their investigation. The first room on this floor was a long room with plenty of cushioned sofas and one large window overlook a large lake down below. On the wall was an electric bulletin board. Its power, like the hub and everything else in this building, had been turned off. Therefore, it was impossible to determine its purpose. The floor was dirty, riddled with stains of sand, mud, crushed vegetation, and dirt. All dried up and had been glued to the floor for a long time. Rick said. “Look like an airport waiting room, just roomier and dirtier.”

“It does,” Celeste said before having a look at a counter. Behind it were black-screen computers and empty chairs.  “Nothing here,” Celeste said.

“Well, there is plenty of room to look at. C’mon, let see what’s behind that door.” Rick pointed at the exit. They walked to the exit. Catherine shook the door and tried to get it open. It was locked. “Allow me,” Rick said before he punched the door opened. The latches and parts of the locks fell to a dirty floor. The inside was dark, forcing the team to turn on their flashlight. With the little light they had, the group walked in. They found two cages on both sides of the wall. These cages extended from the entrance to the end other the room. Through further observation, they found long spears, drenched with blood at the other side of these cages. At a corner near the exit, there were five large trash bins and a long metal table. All of them were blackened with blood. Inside the trash bins were severed body parts from different types of Pokémon. All of them were dried up to the bones. Catherine felt her lunch touched her throat the moment she saw them. In the end, she remained calm and examined the table instead. Celeste had a look inside and inspected the severed limbs. They all have scars on the wrists. Catherine found chains and metal pieces on the table. Dried sticky blood and oil coated these pieces. Further to the right, she found several saw blades along with a large bloody meat cleaver. Under the table were containers with sets of those chains and metal pieces in them.

Catherine said, “What the fuck happened here?”

“Slaves,” Rick said. “All Outlands slaves are branded with chains and that piece of metal.”

Celeste asked. “Catherine, do you remember the plane that we found near the hole?”

“Yeah, you guys said it was filled with refugees.”

Celeste added. “And they all have metal pieces attached to their limbs.”

“Hum, suddenly the idea of this Sanctuary is clear,” Rick said and shook his head. “Tricking those with nothing left and exploiting them. Don’t know who the hell is behind this, Infinity or bandits. Either way, I’m gonna smash his skull.”

They exited the room and saw two sets of staircases. There was a sign on the wall that was vandalized by bandit graffiti. The sign indicated that the upward stair led to the “Prison” and the other that leading down to “The King’s lab”. Celeste hesitated for a moment and said. “Well, let’s go down, shall we? I don’t think what up there would do much help.”

Catherine said. “Yes, maybe there are more in the so call Lab. Rick?”

Rick answered, “Eh, whatever floats your boat.”

Celeste then took the lead. “All right, let’s check the lab.”

The stair led them down to large rooms with empty cages that levitated on metal rails. At the end of the rail was an elevator that led down to somewhere. The elevator doors were locked and heavily reinforced. Even Rick could not break them open. After a series of rooms that look more like a combination of a prison and a butcher house, they made it to the power room.

“Hm, yup, my cousin’s magic is need once again,” Rick said and opened the main power box. “Well, this is gonna be a problem.”

Catherine said, “What it is?”

Rick took out a handful of severed wires. “Eh, someone had already cut them off. Well, so much for that idea. Wait the minute.” He dug his hand deeper in the wires. “Ah ha, still have a few.”

“Do you where they are leading to?” Catherine asked.

“Hold on”, he shook the small wire, with enough strength that it did not snap them. He took his hand out and pointed to the left, which was leading to the outside. “There.”

They stepped out of the power room and saw no lab, just the lake they had seen from above. Celeste looked around, trying to find any other room. While she and Rick were wandering around the lake, Catherine just focused on a control panel at the edge of the shore. Catherine inspected the panel. There was only one button, “Drain”. Catherine said, “Wow, didn’t even bother hiding it.” Catherine pushed the button.

As one would expect, all the water were drained away. The sound of water pouring back to hidden containers caught Celeste and Rick attention. Several minutes later, a hatch in the middle of the lake revealed itself. “Hiding stuff in a lake. Haven’t seen that in a dozen of movies. These Infinity guys are sure hacks.” Rick remarked as he jumped down. The floor cracked under his weight. He looked at the hatch for a moment, until a realization hit. He ran to the middle of the lake, confirmed a suspicion and slammed his fist on the lake floor. “Agh, damn it!” He slammed the floor once more.  “I hate it when they never make the size right for all Pokémon.”

Catherine teleported to his side and gently patted him on the back. “Calm the fuck down. What’s the matter?” She looked at the hatch. It was only wide enough for her and Celeste to come through. “Oh, that. Nah, don’t think too hard about it, big guy. These guys probably think that no Pokémon your size is smart enough for secret lab and shit.”

Rick glared at her. “Don’t you sass me. If it is not so painfully true, I would punch you.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. Jeez, what the fuck is wrong with you. Just a fucking joke.” Catherine continued to pat his back.

Celeste then ran pass then and immediately opened the hatch. “No time for that Catherine. Come with me.” She looked around. “Look like you should stay here and guard the place, Rick. Make sure that there is no surprise party up here. Keep in contact.”

Rick gently told Catherine to get her hand off. “Sure, it is what I do. Guarding stuff and crap. You ladies have fun.” He said with disappointment in his tone.

“Fun? Not too fucking sure about that,” said Catherine as she looked down the ladder, which led down to darkness. Celeste, without saying anything, climbed down.

“Well, good luck, big guy. See you later.” Catherine said.

“Just be careful. In the meantime, I’ll have a look at the prison. There may be something up there.”

“Good idea.”

“Catherine, we must go.” Celeste urged.

“Fine. I’m coming. What the hell is wrong with you today?”

Catherine slid down the ladder and landed shortly after. Whatever this lab was, it was not placed too deep into the ground. The air here was heavily sterile, so much so that Catherine could taste it through her mask. “What the fuck happens to all the lights?” Catherine said before activated the flashlight in her fabricator. “Ah!” Celeste screamed at Catherine’s flashlight. The sudden burst of light was unintentionally aimed at her eyes. “Oh shit, sorry.”

“It’s okay. Agh, you got to warn me about that.”

“Sorry.”

After Celeste had reactivated her flashlight, they started to look around. Apparently, they were in a large empty metal chamber with metal pipe overhead and crawling on the wall. In front of them were three branching paths, with the one in the middle locked. To their left was a large elevator. The size, appearance and the same reinforced locked, confirmed that this elevator linked to the one from above. Catherine inspected the control panel near the elevator. There was no power connected to either the elevator or the panel. Celeste shone the light down at the floor and found long blood trails alongside the magnetic rails. They ran from the elevator to the center of the chamber, where a lever would decide which branch for the cage to head to. Celeste turned the lever and the rail underneath responded by spinning the central piece with a rail link attached.

Catherine noticed the feature and exclaimed. “Oh, it like a…”

“Train line?”

“Yup, that. Well, can’t blame these fuckers for being…creative?” Celeste ignored her comment and headed to the first branch on the left.

 _“Hum, I’m starting to sense something is wrong with her.”_ Catherine thought.

_“Don’t lie to yourself Catherine, you have thought that since we set foot in this place. You were even thinking about “that” a few minutes ago.”_

_“Thinking of what, that she might be one of them?”_

_“Oh, I have no idea that was what you are thinking about. Hahaha. Did you catch my sarcasm?”_

_“Stop being a smart ass. You can’t, that’s everybody-in-The-Foundation’s job.”_

Celeste's voice echoed through the corridor. “Catherine, have a look at this.”

Catherine abandoned her thoughts and head straight to Celeste. The end of the first corridor was starting to look like a laboratory. The wall and floor were coated with white tiles. At both sides of the rails were desks with computers and other equipment. Paper with numbers and figures were tossed and discarded all over the floor. On the wall was graffiti text that said: “This lab had and would always belong to the King” Underneath is the crown emblem. The paint had faded quite substantially. Going deeper and the corridor was invaded with both trace of blood and paper scattered. There were these sealed up rooms with the title of “Indoctrination therapy” and a number. Catherine was stumped for quite some time there. “Indoctrination? Like, brainwashing?” She whispered to herself.

“Catherine, where are you?” Celeste’s voice came from indoctrination chamber number 9.

“I’m here, just a sec,” Catherine said before quickly located the room. With hesitation, Catherine stepped in. She saw large screens on the walls and a single chair in the middle of the room. The chair was bolted to the floor. Leather straps were all over on the chair. They all were worn out and smeared with blood.

Celeste was examining a heap of report paper in the corner of the room. “Have a look at all this,” Celeste said. Catherine then slowly approached the chair. She could felt revenant of pain flowing from it. While Catherine was looking at the chair, Celeste opened up a compartment in her right arm with a slight moment from her finger. The sound of a dart loaded in place could be heard. 

“You heard that?” Catherine said, making Celeste immediately look back at the document.

She turned to Catherine and said. “I think, there must be something around here. You should go and check.”

Catherine squinted her eye. “Yeah, sure, stay put.” Catherine then nonchalantly exited the room.

Once Catherine’s footsteps were far enough, Celeste slowly moved out of the indoctrination room. She saw Catherine was busy looking at some equipment on a nearby desk. With Catherine’s back turned against her, Celeste extended her arm and aimed. Catherine stopped and kept her back turn to Celeste. “Celeste, can we, talk for a moment?”

Celeste lowered her arm. “What is it?”

“Before we uncover anything from down here, I must ask. Why didn’t we wait for Genesis to come and conduct this investigation? What is so fucking important that you don’t want Genesis to know?”

“Catherine now is not the time to.”

“Answer. That is all I need. Give it then we shall continue. Or else.”

“Or, or else? What are you saying?” Celeste moved backward in preparation.

“Well, I have plenty of ways to knock you out. With you suddenly behind my back, I couldn’t help but feel the need to pull the trigger.” Catherine reached for Lady Death “Answer me.”

The Sylveon put her right hand behind her back. Her eyes focus on Catherine right hand. “I, I don’t trust Genesis. I know Axel and I owe them, but, but. They lied and conduct, horrible things.”

Catherine grabbed Lady Death’s stock and turned around. “That is a little vague. Care to clear it up?”

Celeste swallowed her breath and answer. “I, I, I can’t, but let just say, I saw this particular deception from Genesis, that covered up the death of thousands. I stumbled upon it by chance, so, eh, so, I didn’t have any evidence. But now I can, yes, I can get it before them.”  Sweat dampened the fur on the Sylveon.

“Heh, you are way too innocent to lie. Seriously? If Genesis would actually do so, then why the fuck does we still have firsthand experience at the mine? I tell you what I think of your excuse.” Catherine began to snicker. “Bullshit. Absolute, bullshit.” She then took Lady Death Out and pointed it at Celeste. “Tell me, what you are truly up to.”

Celeste seemingly jumped at Catherine’s action. However, the expression on her face was not of disbelief or feeling of betrayal, but of determination and preparation. She put her right mechanical hand in front of her. The compartment on the hand opened, revealed a gun muzzle. “Catherine, I know what you are trying to do. Just calm down.”

Catherine slowly moved forward. “Oh, I am perfectly calm.  Here is what I think. You insisted on going down here, before any form of backup to show up. You know about this place, don’t you? You know the layout and everything. You know about this doorway. Too small for Rick to come in, perfect chance to separate us and stab me in the back while I’m down here. You probably faked that call with Rave too. This place had something and you want to hide it.”

“Catherine, that is absurd. What can I gain from that?”

“Now I know why you want to merge with my team. He must have told you to keep an eye on me.”

“Who is he?” said Celeste, confused.

“You should know. I was wondering how you could be swayed, but this place had given me the answers I need.” Catherine cocked her pistol. A psychic bullet was formed within the chamber.

Celeste spat. “Me? You think guilt me would work. Newsflash, I am not as naïve as I appear to be. You were right, the whole Genesis things is made up- far stretched and illogical. The same goes to your excuses as well.” 

“Well, and what the fuck do we have here?”

“You are the one that needs to explain yourself. You are the one that is indoctrinated. You encountered the King twice and live.”

“Bullshit, I nearly die the second time. And what about you? You faced him as well.”

“I got Axel to be my witness. I heard the reports. No one was there when you faced him. Therefore, it is impossible to know what your conversations with him were. And isn’t it kinda convenient that you somehow managed to face him the second time in Gamma base lowest depth? The S sector is nearly inaccessible at all time, then how did you get in. You dragged Axel down there with you and got him caught. Then the King just purposely wounded you to avoid suspicion. You are indoctrinated so pain is no problem.” Celeste paused. “You must be the one that assisted the Kingdom’s preparation before the assault as well.”

“Bitch! Are you high on that grenade of yours? And just because of that, you think I’m a traitor?” Catherine snapped.

“Well, color me surprised, but what make your reasons any different? Yours only based on paranoia.”

Catherine yelled.“What about yours?”

Both of them stared at each other for a long while. They realized that both were pointing weapons at each other for no other reason than baseless assumptions. “Catherine, what are we doing? Why are we doing this?”

“Fuck me if I know.” She came up with an idea. “How about we put down our weapons and iron something out.” Catherine put her left hand in front of her while slowly crouching down to put Lady Death on the floor. Celeste closed the muzzle on her arm as well. “There we go. That’s how it fucking done.” Catherine then proceeded to turn off the fabricator. “See. Now we can” Celeste quickly reopened the muzzle and launched a dart at Catherine’s chest. Catherine could not say much else but “You BITCH!” before collapsing on the floor.

“I only need, one way to knock you out first,” Celeste said before Catherine lost consciousness.

A blank dream in Catherine’s head soon followed. In this dream, she heard nothing but the words ‘I’m sorry’, stuck on repeat. Once her eyes found strength to opened, she saw Celeste shaking her gently while constantly say “I’m sorry.”

Reflex made Catherine pushed Celeste away. “What the fuck?”

Celeste quickly hugged her “I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

“What the fuck just happened?”

Celeste pressed her index fingers together and said. “I used the truth serum on you. I got all the answer I need. I was wrong, you are not a traitor.”

“What the fuck? Truth serum, wait, then how the fuck didn’t I remember anything?”

“Well, eh, it was a stronger dose with, eh, some other stuff.” She said with an awkward grin.

“You got two fucking seconds to tell me what your questions were.”

“I well, just the one that I asked when you were pointing the gun at me. Well, I did go into detail about how you got to the…” The Sylveon rambling on.

 _“She is telling the truth. She did not ask anything beyond that.”_ The malevolent voice spoke. _“I was about to assume control should she show signs of betrayal or asking about “our relationship”. I found no reasons to kill her.”_

_“Wow, how awfully nice of you.”_

_“Don’t think that way. Making more enemies is not ideal now. Try to hold on to all the allies that we have.”_

When the voice stopped, Catherine returned to reality. She found Celeste was still apologizing.

“Celeste.” She said.

“Yes?”

“Don’t give me that apologetic bullshit. Time is tough enough. You fucked up, I fucked up, I get it. I did point the gun at you first. But, no one gets killed, that is enough. No need to worry. All is forgiven.”

“Thanks.”

“Okay, good. With all that dealt with, let’s go through this place.” Catherine stood up.

“But I thought you want to wait.”

“Nah, I want to do some investigation from the start. But once I saw you want to murder some motherfuckers, I just starting to, suspect. And the rest is history.” Celeste looked down at the floor, thinking of what she had done.

“Oh, that is when you started.”

“Yeah, I know, pretty rash and stupid.”

“I began mine before I joining your team. I even tried to, neutralized you after you get down the ladder.”

Catherine felt a sense of dread. She was indeed not, what she appeared to be. This time, Catherine was the one that put up a badly constructed smile. “Don’t think about it, history. Anyway, let focus on the tasks at hand. Seeing all this, I began to wonder, what else is in this wretched place.” Celeste nodded.

They reached the end of the branch, nothing more but rooms with the same setup and an office. Inside the offices were file cabinets, a desk, and a computer. Celeste rebooted the computer with her fabricator. Through it, she started to access the data. On the desk, were papers with a detailed report on the result of the indoctrination process. Catherine skimmed through the lengthy numbers and reached the conclusion. “All subjects to the experiment showed signs of intellect degeneration. An unfortunate side effect to achieve absolute obedience from said subjects.” Catherine sighed in relief after reading that. “So the whole process turned you into dumb zombie slaves. No wonder why they have gathered so many bandits to serve as cannon fodders.”

“I see, why waste time with training and recruiting bandits when you can just snatch a few and make them work for you.”

“Thanks for that Miss Obvious, got anything from the computer?”

“No.”

“Protected by password huh?”

“No, empty, there is not a single bit of data in this thing.”

“Hum, the bandits must have erased everything before taking off. Let’s see the other branch, maybe they have something.”

Rick then jumped in the comm. “Hey, you guys have been awfully quiet down there. Discover anything?”

Catherine connected her comm. “Yeah,” Catherine paused “we are all good. Got anything up there?”

“Well, lots of dead bodies and rotten food. Obviously, this is where they keep the slaves. I even found an elevator up here, the same as the one down there. Eh, no, the one on the surface. Sorry got a brain fart there.”

“Hum, I see. We found the elevator down here as well.”

“Oh really? See anything else down there?”

“Brainwashing tech maybe could be more. Just keep digging. We will continue our investigation from down here.”

“Sure, be careful down there.”

“Uh huh.” Catherine turned off the comm.

Afterward, both went for the branch on the right. This branch looked less than a laboratory and more like the Containment center at Genesis. There were chemical containers on the floor and glass cages on the wall on both sides. Some of the chemical bottles were cracked open, which brought some explanations to the smell of detergent in the air. All the glass cages had blood, cracks and claw marks on them. A few of them had writings on the wall. The letters were swirling red worms and barely eligible. Some of they said: “Help us.” A few of them were long paragraphs written in blood, reciting the passages of Arceus book of creation or letters to someone who would never read them. There were dead bodies within these glass chambers as well. Most of them died of starvation. Their remains were nothing but rotten skin and bones. Some fresh bodies lied in pools of their own crimson liquid. The blood for these bodies came from narrow cuts on the throat. The scene made Catherine asks “Are you okay sunshine girl?”

“I’m fine. I had seen worse.”

Surprised by her respond, Catherine shrugged. “Good, me too.”

They reached the end of the cells and the railway. Again, there were two shut tight reinforced steel doors. In front of the door was a few small cart, just enough to fit a few medium size Pokémon. Celeste examined the cart and said. “I think this is where they transport, specimens for experiments.” Besides the doors were surgeon tables with bloody knives and drills left in random fashion. “Ah, shit, well, whatever the fuck that was, it can’t be good,” Catherine said while examined the bloody drenched equipment. Catherine then found a glass case in a corner. It said “Emergency Extraction room keys” on the cover. Inside were three hooks and two keys. “Ha,well, at least these fuckers are honest.” Catherine crushed the glass with her elbow. She took the key and tossed it to Celeste. “Let’s go and find out what’s behind door number three.”They walked back to the middle branch and inserted the key. The metal doors then opened up with a few creaks. Once the doors were opened, they noticed something. This corridor was lit up. Catherine said. “Oooookay, didn’t expect that.”

“Do you think, there might be.”

“Someone gotta be up ahead. Prepare your weapons.” Catherine took out Lady Death and phased through to the end of the corridor. She turned to handle of the gate and slowly open the door, trying her best not to make too much noise. Behind the door was a gigantic chamber, filled with a buzzing sound. Celeste scanned the area for any source of living thing with her left arm. After a few minutes, she could safely tell Catherine that there was no one in this chamber. Both started to examine the area.

This place seemed disjointed compared to the other areas. All the machines here have scrap metal for their outer shells. The white tiles on the wall and floor were stripped apart, made room for clumsily metalwork and abundance of bandit-made machines. Catherine looked up and saw the ceiling were chock full of electric wires sparkling with electricity. In between them were running engines with Infinity emblems. These engines were forcefully plucked out of the structure and exposed for the world to see. All the tubes from the entrance and one extra tube were connected to one hulking contraption at the center. The contraption in mention was layers upon layers of various machines and equipment. All of them were marked with numbers drew by graffiti. At the bottom of the contraption was a single tube pointed down to a metal mold.

Both walked along an unstable walkway toward a computer bolted on the middle of the contraption. The computer had multiple screens, one was off while two of which showed Catherine and Celeste images at that moment. Apparently, there were cameras mounted on the walls surrounding them. Celeste accessed the computer, making the only black screen turn on. The computer screen displayed a message that said: “Deleting data 98% complete”. “Darn it.” Celeste immediately hit “Cancel” and managed to save a few video files and one audio clip.

“Hum, well, someone doesn’t want us to any see that,” Catherine said.

“Should we?”

“We went this far, so why the fuck not?” Catherine connected her fabricator to it. “Let me copy this, just to make sure…there, now let’s see.”

Celeste played the video files. All the footages were displaying one moment from different cameras -this place over six months ago. In the footage, the area was chaotic and noisier. All the bits of machinery on the contraption were moving, burning, lighting and active in some way. The two cameras displaying Catherine and Celeste was now the image of a regular Alakazam wearing the King’s attire. He was anxiously looking at the screen. Catherine noticed one camera was focusing on a machine connected to the extra tube she saw earlier. She squinted her eyes and saw something moving inside the machine.

“Holy shit! There is someone in there!” Catherine exclaimed.

Celeste slapped the back of Catherine’s head with the ribbon feeler. “Catherine, be quiet, there is someone here remember? Sh”

Catherine whispered “Sorry, but look at that shit. She pointed at the screen.” Before Celeste could see it clearly, from the screen, came voices. “PLEASE, HELP US!”

“Oh my gosh!”

Catherine slapped the back of Celeste’s head. “What the fuck did you just tell me?”

The Alakazam in the footage shook his head and said. _“Calm down, now, my kin. You should be grateful. You are about to, transform into new, idea and power. Instead of, turning into recycled, flesh and food. Hahaha. Oh, I was just taunting you. You have no reason, to be grateful. Only I’m going to be, the one that benefits from all, this. Look on the bright side, living is much worse. And once I am the King of the world, you will eventually suffer, similar, fate. Now, goodbye.”_ He said before turning on a series switches on the computer.

“What, is, he, doing?”

“Fuck me if I know.”

What happened next was beyond both of their understanding. The Pokémon within the cramped machine began to scream. From the footage, it was hard to tell what was going on inside. However, the lit up compartments on the machine gave her the idea that they were being burned alive. Once the screams turned into incoherent gurgling sound, the machine began to compress itself, pumping something through the tube. The mysterious substance then entered through the top of the contraption. The machine along the contraption began to work at full force. Pumping, crushing and burning whatever was floating inside it. Once in a while, a chunk of brown goo splashed outside the cracks of the machines.

“Holy shit,” Catherine said with her eyes wide open. “That is fucked up,” said Catherine while Celeste was silence with dread.

Moments later, the tube at the button extended and penetrated a small metal mole underneath it. The contraption then shot a radiating substance inside. The Alakazam just casually walked down a stair and came to the mold, completely ignored the excess liquid being pumped to the ground. Once the contraption stopped, he opened the mold and took out on shining Megastore. As soon as he touched it, the Alakazam was wrapped up in a blinding rainbow light. He became the King that Catherine had seen all too often. After that, the King headed to a set of door. The footages stopped there.

Catherine then heard a loud thud beside her. Celeste's knees had given up for a moment. Catherine quickly picked her up and asked. “Oh, god, are you, fuck it, are you okay.”

Celeste nodded while shaking. “Yes, I’ll be just fine. I, I have seen worse.”

“Don’t lie to me sunshine girl.”

After calming Celeste down, Catherine accessed the sound clip. The King’s voice came. “Yesterday Mega stone recreation process was a success. Taking the essence of DNA, and organic materials; crammed them into a small area seems, like a crazy idea. But look at it now. It is functioning, just wonderfully. After months of collecting, research and experimentation, I have done it.” He took a deep breath. “For the first time, I have created something, which my father, had not done. Something I could call, my own. Hahahahahaha.” The sound clip ended there.

“Well, that just fucking happened.”

“He just murdered his own kind for that.”

“Well, in retrospect, this is the fucker that snapped my arms and legs for his amusement. That kind of behavior is expected. Surprised that he didn’t monolog longer before pushing the buttons.”

“Do you think that he is here? Could he be the one behind that door?”

“Regret huh? Well, if that is the case, I going down there alone.”

“WHAT? Are you insane?”

“I might be, but don’t worry, like Rick said, what are the chances if that this not him and just be a grunt who know how to use a computer. Either way, I’m going down there. I want to, try out something.”

“If that what you want then no way I letting you go down there alone!”

“Good” Catherine patted her shoulder and smirked. “Then let’s go.”

Both walked passed the Mega stone recreation contraption and traversed to the door. It opened and showed an elevator behind it. They prepared themselves and walked in. There was only one button for Catherine to press. The elevator creaked during its descent. The metal created an ominous hum after the ten seconds mark. Without warning, the elevator stopped. The doors opened and presented before both of them another long and brightly lit corridor. Catherine with Lady Death walked forward. “Cover me,” Catherine said as she carefully moved to the end of the corridor. “What a shock, a door,” Catherine whispered to herself before touching the door and opened it. 

The final room of this facility was a data storage room. However, it could no longer serve such purpose. All the data storage unit and caches had been cut into pieces. Their remains discarded in four corners of the room. The absence of these machines gave the room plenty of open space. The only intact equipment was a large computer placed at the end of the room. On the screen was a large amount of data was being transferred to some place with an encrypted name. Axel was standing in front of it and looking up at the screen. On his back was a replica of the Mind plate. Without so much as a second thought, Celeste ran toward him. However, Catherine grabbed her by the arm and pushed her to the side. Before Celeste could hit the floor or react to what had just happened, she felt something touched her rib. Lying on the floor, before the pain rushed to her brain, Celeste was stunned at the sight of the attacker.

It was Axel with his fabricated blade. Celeste turned to the Axel near the computer and realized it was just a holographic decoy. The thought of her could be killed by his hand made a bitter cold ran down Celeste’s spine.

“Sunshine girl, are you alright?” Catherine asked her while aiming Lady Death at Axel. He turned and ran straight for Celeste. His intention to cleave the Sylveon in half was clear. He raised the weapon halfway up until a psychic purple dome covered Celeste completely. “Don’t answer that,” Catherine said before shooting at Axel. The Snivy sidestepped and avoided the shots. Catherine noticed how his speed had changed. His movement was quicker, to the point that his image sometimes disappeared when he quick-stepped. Axel returned to the computer and retrieved the hologram.

Seconds later, the computer screen changed. The Bandits King and his devious smile were on the screen.“Oh, what a surprise. Fate has a cruel sense of humor, isn’t it? Welcome to my, humble home. Well, old home anyway. How do you, enjoy the visit so far?”

“It’s dark, run down and all fucked up, just like you,” Catherine answered.

“Ooooh, you are too kind. However, the credit is not, all mines. This facility was in fact, Infinity’s property and the indoctrination devices, belong to them as well. I just pulled a few strings, added a few features, and faked a few reports. Too bad that I have to see it goes, up in smoke. At least, you would save money, on your own cremation.”

“Blah, blah, I am still a chicken shit, blah, blah, blah.” Catherine fired at shot at the screen, cracked it and distorted the image.

“Now, now, don’t be like that. Since our last encounter, you should be grateful, for I am not being there.” Catherine gritted her teeth. “But no matter, you would die anyway, to my newest clone. Well, technically, he is not technically my clone, but, hehe, his DNA are so adaptable and so interesting. No wonder my father took an interest to him.”

“Cut the shit, what have you done to him?” Catherine fired another shot at the screen. Axel blocked the bullet with his blade.

“Well, let just say I gave him a little boost in everything else and one psychic ability. I also planted something special in him.”

Catherine rolled her eyes. “I’ll give you two minutes before telling me what the fuck that is.”

The King chuckled. “Like I would”

“That is not a request. It’s a prediction. You are so cliché that it hurts.”

His smile diminished. “Oh, well, let see if you can survive that long then. Attack.”

Catherine summoned her bladed bat and charged forward, prompted Axel to do the same. She began with a series of diagonal swings. After dodged her swings, Axel summoned his semi-auto sniper rifle to his left hand. Axel pulled the trigger and fired two shots into Catherine’s right kidney. Catherine staggered from the pain and teleported out of the following shots. The dark aura oozed out from the bullet holes and quickly healed her. Once Catherine stopped teleporting, Axel anticipated her next location. He dashed and thrust forward, right where Catherine was about to be. Her aura extended and turned into a bony hand. It grasped the blade by the tip. The arm then lifted Axel by his blade and hammered him to the floor. Catherine regained her footing and advanced. Axel sprung back up and backed flipped, avoided a swiped from the aura hand. The hand grabbed the floor and slingshot Catherine forward. She flew through the air and aimed the blunt side of the bat at his face. Axel ran forward and slid on his back, evaded the attack. Catherine’s momentum continued throwing her forward and crashed into the wall, bruised her eye in the process.

Seeing both Axel and Catherine fighting paralyzed Celeste. She did not know what to do and the barrier Catherine put up certainly would not help. She tried to stand up, but gravity instantly brought her down. She looked down and noticed a long and narrow cut dragged across her side. She summoned a healing hypo. A sickening feeling crept up her stomach as she jabbed it in the wound. 

Outside of the barrier, Catherine and Axel were still trading blows. Axel was still going on the aggressive, constantly forcing Catherine to block his slashes and thrusts with her bat and assistance from the aura. Tired of the never-ending defensive state, Catherine put all her strength to a parry attempt. Axel raised his sword for a full-force chop. Catherine then clashed the blade with her bat as soon as he brought it down. The attack was a success. The two weapons collided and Axel was the one who stunned, leaving him open. Catherine’s aura arm formed a fist and punched him right the gut, sending the Snivy flying to the opposite side of the room.

With Axel distance away, Catherine released a large amount of aura out of her body. Allowing the voice to formed the extra aura hand. Catherine ran forward and dragged the sharp edge of the bat on the floor, created metal sparks. Axel recovered from the previous attack in a wink and put his hand in front of his face. The King on the screen grinned as he did so. “Ah. Not too fast, Mindlock.”

“Mindlock,” Axel said at the same time at the King. The plate on his back and his hand glowed with a shade of bright purple. Catherine felt the connection between her and malevolent voice was distorted once again. The aura hand quickly faded away. Unfazed by it, she kept on attacking. She brought her bat up and positioned it overhead. Tricking Axel into thinking that she was about to do a simple slash. Axel moved forward, prepared his blade for a parry. Catherine threw the bat, at him and recalled Lady Death to her hand. He instantly responded by blocking the bat with his blade. By the time the bat dropped to the floor after hitting Axel’s sword, Lady Death was in Catherine’s grasp. She pulled the triggered, relentlessly fired psychic charged bullet at Axel’s feet and abdomen. Her face changed from surprise to confusion in a matter of two seconds. The shots exploded on his skin but did not leave any form of injury behind, just a few dents on his skin. Axel dashed forward with blinding speed and knocked Lady Death out of her hand. He chained the attack with another forward slash, which Catherine evaded with a teleport. She placed herself behind him and grabbed him by the tail. A trick to tame Krokorok taught to her by Rick. She screamed before lifting him up and slammed him to the ground. He was incredibly light so do that did not cost Catherine much stamina. After three repeated slams, her muscles got tired. Without the assist of the malevolent voice, this was much harder. She decided to finish up by started spinning in a dish throwing motion. Once her muscles could not hold on anymore, she released him. Axel flew through the air. His face then made an impact with the barrier Catherine had set up, which surrounded a dumbfound Celeste.

With no strength in her arms muscle, her body sweating and the bullet wound began to bleed from within, Catherine was left with no choice but a half charged Focus Blast. The orange orb managed to hit a dizzying Axel. The small explosion propelled him away from the barrier. He lied still for a moment. The sword was still in his hand. Catherine made a victory smile. She knocked him out, at least. Whatever attack she had done on him could not kill him. Not when his skin had just shaken off her psychic bullets like that.

“Stand up.” The King on the screen said; moments before Axel began to get up. Axel turned around and attempted to attack Catherine. However, he stopped when the King said. “Stop and return.” The Snivy returned to the computer. The King then looked at Catherine, smiled. “Surprised? Never thought that he could just block your power like that, huh?”

Catherine turned to the screen. “You son of a bitch!”

“I told you, he now serves as my clone. And like all clones, I can act through them. It would be a waste, not allowing him to use my newly, acquired technique, don’t you say. And it would be a shame too, if a skilled warrior got, outmatched by a mere grunt, with gods given power.”

“Bullshit, then why enhanced him in the first fucking place? Be honest. You just want to kill me.”

“Maybe. Attack!” Axel fire two more shots with his sniper rifle. Catherine quickly raised her psychic barrier and prevented the bullets from penetrating her skin. Axel activated his invisibility with his blade. Catherine put her palmed together and thickened the barrier around her. Axel existed his invisibility state and thrust his blade. The thicker barrier deflected the blade after each hit. Axel transformed the thin blade into a heavy hammer and bashed it at the barrier. The impact cracked the outer layer. Yet, with some concentration, the barrier mended itself in a blink of an eye. Catherine caught up her breath and began to speak. “I can’t kill you, I can’t beat you at this stage, no matter, I’ll just gonna stall this until reinforcement arrives. And they should be here soon. Let this puppet be their problem.” Catherine said, smiling.

Heard Catherine calling Axel a “puppet”, Celeste turned her head to her. “Are you, are you, seriously. He is your ally. Your”

Catherine turned to her, kept on smiling. “So what? I executed my allies when I have to, this should be no different.”

Celeste’s eyes began to show water around the edges. “Cath…Catherine, how could you, how could you SAY THAT! He saved you, he, he”

“What else? He just needed a replacement for his teammate. And even if he saved me, so what? I barely know him, he holds no significant to me, so why bother?”

“You cannot be serious.” The King said.

“What’s wrong? Didn’t get any of those satisfactions from your silly game?” Catherine gave him an ear-to-ear grin that almost mirrored his.

“Hehehehe, fine, then you are no longer, amusing to me. I guess I have to, switch my victim.” The King turned to Celeste. “Kill the Sylveon, cut her into pieces.”Axel immediately ignored Catherine and turned to Celeste. With his weapon still in hammer form, he walked slowly to Celeste, whose faced was covered in fear and running down tears. _“Fuck!”_ Catherine screamed in her head, knowing that her little show had put Celeste in danger. Axel raised and slammed his hammer on the thin barrier. The hit broke the purple dome instantly. Catherine had put all of her remaining energy into her own barrier so there was not much left to maintain Celeste’s barrier. All the shattered pieces soon disappeared.

“Axel, please,” Celeste said. Her eyes were still bloodshot with tears. Axel transformed his weapon back to the sword form and prepare for a sideswipe. Celeste slowly standing up, her hand prepared for an embrace. “I know you are…”

“Take her head off.” The King said. Celeste closed her eyes as soon as Axel moved the blade.

“AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.”

In near instance, Axel had slashed Catherine’s forehead. A chunk of green hair fell down, leaving a scar with the shape of an emblem on Catherine's forehead exposed. The emblem was an X drew with incantations, written in Unown symbols. The blade cut the front bang of her hair and carved into the skin. Axel attempted to do a following up attack, but she teleported away from him. Celeste opened her eyes and found herself in the protection of Catherine’s barrier. She found Catherine had taken her place. _“She, she used Ally switch, she, she.”_

“Stop, return.” He commanded Axel to go back to the computer. “Mine, mine. What do we have here?” The King said.

Catherine took a step back then used her hand to cover her forehead. The burning sensation dragged itself across her head. Her hand felt a sick stickiness as she put more pressure to stop the bleeding. With the absence of the malevolent voice, her body refused to heal with the force of her will. Soon, she could feel droplets of blood crawled down her cheeks. Her eyes were stung as more blood made their way in her tear ducts. Catherine lets go of her arm as soon as the feeling of light-headedness seeping in. She was barely standing up with her crumbling legs.

“Look at you. Poor, poor Catherine. Ran out of breath already?” The King shook his head. “What was your motive behind that? I thought these Pokémon are insignificant to you?”

“Just, just shut the fuck up.”

“Hahaha.” He started to clap, slowly. “I find you Keepers to be, quite fascinating. Whatever hide in your mind somehow has the ability to transcend reality; simply by using your bodies as a medium. What fascinates me more is that a simple move like Disable, focus on the connection between you and It, is somehow enough to stop you from that monstrous strength. That make me want to”

“Blah, blah!!!” Catherine lunged herself in a drunken path. The meaningless phrase now served as her battle cry. “Go, fuck yourself!”

“That’s the spirit! You will have to honor to be the first Keeper that I dissect. Attack!” The King ordered.

Axel sprinted toward while deconstructing his sniper rifle. He two handed his sword and dashed forward. Catherine used her psychic hold and retrieved her bat. Once it was back in her, And Axel was a few feet away from her, she teleported herself above Axel in an attempt to strike him down.

Axel quickstepped and avoided the blow completely. The blade on Catherine’s bat was bent and seemingly stuck to the floor. The vibration came from the impact had shaken Catherine all the way to her skull. Afterward, she could not feel her hands anymore and dropped the bat. She stood there dumbfounded and powerless. Axel turned around, transformed the weapon into a round shield and bashed her with it.

“Catherine!” Celeste screamed as Catherine hit the floor. The Sylveon could feel the barrier around her growing weaker and weaker. Axel reversed the weapon to the blade form and approached Catherine. He raised the sword. “Catherine, please stand up!”

“Psych!” Catherine yelled as she used her psychic hold to grab the bat and tossed it at Axel. The sharp edge was yanked out and thrown toward Axel’s head. His skin seemingly bounced the blade back, leaving behind just a small break on Axel’s skin. “Argh!” Catherine quickly sprang up and performed an uppercut to Axel’s face. His head turned with the attack, but the expression on his face told her that he could not feel a thing. “No! No! No!” She said as she blindly pummeled him with punches after punches. The force behind the punches slowly diminished (at roughly the same rate as the barrier surrounding Celeste). Once Catherine stopped, Axel then cut her with two diagonal slashes-one across her chest, the other on her abdomen. The cut was not deep enough to chop her in pieces, but the pain was unbearable and unheard of to her body. With a quick motion, he struck her with a punch near the heart. The last strike made her vomit blood on Axel’s jacket.

“Ca…Catherine.” Celeste uttered in disbelief.

“Stop, return. I want to see her bleed.” After Axel completed the command, the King continued. “Hahaha, it is not pleasant, fighting against him, isn’t it?”

Catherine barely standing up said. “You, spill my blood, hah, hah.” She panted as she held onto her abdomen. She summoned a healing hypo and jabbed it into her vein. She grimaced and squeezed a tear as the syrup-like liquid entered her system and stopped the internal bleeding. After a while, the painkiller effect settled in. Still, it was not enough to make all the pain go away. Catherine recalled the bat with her psychic hold and slammed the tip of it to the floor. “No matter. I just need to bonk him the fucking head, faint him. And everything will be okay.”

“Haha, well, about that, sadly to say, it won’t happen.” Catherine glared at the screen with her bruised eye. “You survived for two minutes, so here is your reward. You see, I have conducted as special Genesis procedure on him.”

“Procedure?” Both Celeste and Catherine said.

“Yes. This particular one is used, on special agents and dangerous subjects. A mean to ensure, both loyalty and security.” The King raised a switch in front of the screen. “I have planted a small pill of compact explosive in his head. See this? With a push of this button, the explosive will go off, and his head will blow up into chunks.” The King said as he tossed the switch into the air and caught it with his psychic hold, leaving the button untouched. “I just love this thing, unnecessary, but add so much to the drama. Besides, it is the only thing that could work, long range. I could just detonate his head, with my mind alone, but controlling him was, painful enough.”

“Why, the fuck, are, hah, you telling me all this?”

The King laughed. “I want to see how you churn and troubled by this realization. Even if you knock him out, I’ll kill him. I cannot let those precious memories of his fall to your hands. The only way for him to live is both you being slain by his blade.” He stopped and turned his head back. “Hahahaha, oh, the endless enjoyment I would have with this one.”

Catherine stopped and thought deeply. She was slowly reconsidering her options, all while her body was still aching all over and barely standing up. When she opened her eyes, she began to get on one of her knees.

The King said. “Oh, I see, are you begging me to let him go, or a sweet release? Either way, I would love to hear.”

Catherine grinned. “Fuck no, I’m going to kill this motherfucker, then you.”

“Catherine, what are you saying? You are not going to…” Celeste screamed from inside barrier.

Catherine spat out some more blood. “Gak. Hehehe, can you do the math, right, sunshine girl? Two is a bigger number than one. Either he dies, or we die. And gods know how much more could be killed by him. I have to do this. I’m sorry, truly am.” She closed her eyes at the last sentence.

The King grinned. “Oh, majestic. A true face of bravery, I am impressed. However, you won’t have to worry about that; because he is going to kill you. You are injured and outmatched. On top of that”Catherine did not listen. Instead, she slowly stripped apart the leather strings surrounding the golden rings on her boots. Once the rings were removed, she wore them on her right hand like bracelets. Used Psychic, she made the leather strings wrap around her wrist, secured the rings. The King stopped talking once Catherine abruptly stood up. Things went silence when Catherine used her left hand to take out the ritual knife and drag it across her open wounds. “What are you doing?” The King said.

The small blade now drenched with blood from base to tip. The engravings of runes and symbols let out a bright purple glow. Catherine’s tattoos appeared to do the same thing. The glow was dimmer due to the fabric of her sleeve. She then raised the knife up and chanted some incantation.  “No mane ika so, a lacka, No mane ika so, a lacka. With blood serves as a medium, all is reborn. Azazel, I beckon thee. Accept my blood sacrifice and grant me the strength from thy soul!”

(The song Friction by Mili begins to play)

The King and Celeste did not know what to do besides watching Catherine completing the strange ritual with her staining the rings with the blood on the knife. Dropping the knife, she slammed her hands together in an explosive clap. The rings on her wrist were radiating shining white light, so did her right hand a second later. Once the hands were separated from each other, a white great sword was slowly materialized in between them. Once the five-foot length great sword was completed, Catherine grabbed it and slammed it to the floor, created an explosion of light from the point of impact. A surge of strange power flowed through her. Catherine’s body still felt agonizing pain, but it was no longer weak and limping. “Thank you for pissing around and witnessing my ritual. Now, it’s Showtime! Oh, and a little hint.” Catherine picked the sword up and pointed it at the King. ‘This will go straight up your ass when I’m done with him.”

“Arg, attack!” The King commanded Axel.

Axel dashed forward. Catherine got herself in a batter stand. She swung her sword, launching a thin wave of white light toward Axel. The Snivy jumped over it. Just a fraction of miscalculation and the wave could have cut his body in half. The wave passed by him and slammed into one of the control panels. The wave destroyed the panel in an explosion. The King on the screen was greatly distorted.

“Argh, what the hell, is going on?” The King screamed.

Keeping the grin, Catherine said. “Frankly, I can’t even tell.” Catherine thrust the blade forward. Axel transformed his sword into a shield and blocked it. With force, she pressed forward. The tip of her blade pierced into the fabricated crystal. Axel held his ground, buying some time for the King to come up with a new plan. She then charged some energy into her sword, making it shone brighter. Once it reached the brightest, a small explosion was triggered. The blast broke open the shield and flung Axel back. Catherine raised her sword and brought down a chop. Axel rolled to the left and got away. He then quickly gained distance from Catherine. He regenerated the blade and entered his invisible state.

Catherine pointed the blade at the ground and stabbed it down. As the tip penetrated the floor, a powerful wave of light seemingly exploded around Catherine. The area of effect attack caught Axel and blasted him backward. Axel recovered and immediately charged straight at her. They then crossed blade and looked at each other eye to eye. Catherine’s were burning with resolve while Axel’s were empty and hollow. They immediately separated. Catherine pushed his blade aside with an upward slash. Then an attack across his chest followed. The sword of light burned through his jacket and to his skin. Even the modified skin of his could not withstand Catherine’s blade and let some blood spilled out. He back-stepped and transformed his normal blade into great sword size, similar to Catherine’s. Catherine did not advance, instead, she stood still and rested the blade on her shoulder. “Heh, copycat, fine, let’s see what you got.” Axel did not hesitate and went for a forward thrust.

“Holy blade!” Catherine raised the sword straight up. A smaller explosion of light went off around and propelled Axel away. After the explosion had subsided, Catherine kept her blade raised and stood still. The blade was getting brighter. “Retaliate immediately.” The King ordered, screaming.

After witnessing Catherine’s ability with her blade, Axel decided the best course of action would be range attacks. However, before he could summon his railgun, Catherine turned to Axel’s direction and slammed the blade down right in front of her. The impact sent waves after waves of light at Axel. Axel dashed out of the first few waves. Catherine generated more strength into her sword, expanding the size and speed of the following up waves. Soon, they had turned into tsunamis of radiance and Axel could not escape them anymore. The first few waves got him in between pushed him against a wall. Axel used Protect and hunkering down. Catherine broke Celeste barrier and put all of her concentration into creating more waves. Eventually, the Protect wore off and Axel had to feel the heat of Catherine attack. Axel covered his eyes and coiled himself. The light vaporized his clothes and burned deeper into Axel’s skin after each consecutive hit.

After the third dozens of waved had burned to the wall behind Axel, Catherine stopped. She was panting heavily. Blood mixed with sweat fell to the ground below her. The blade of light was still pinned to the floor. The effect of her previous attacks could be seen by burn marks, drawn in V-shaped patterns. Axel was still coiling, smoking was coming out of his body.

(Song ends)

“Axel!” Celeste screamed out and moved toward him. The Snivy moved a little.

 “Get up, now!” The King screamed.

Axel forced himself up and slowly moved forward, his hand clung to a newly generated crystal blade. The plate on his back fell off as he moved forward. Catherine struggled to pull her sword out of the ground. Before she knew it, the blade had disappeared. With all the strength she had left, Catherine summoned Lady Death with her psychic hold and pointed it at him.

Standing between Catherine and Axel, Celeste decided to run with her crazy plan. She threw a large grenade or rather a bundle of grenades that she had strapped together at Axel. Axel did not bother to dodge away from it. One could argue that he could not see it at all for the light had blinded him. “What are you…” The King said before Celeste detonated the grenades.  Jolts after jolts of electricity were let loose and struck Axel in the head. The Snivy screamed in agony when the lightning hits. Once all the lightning dispersed, he fell to the ground.

“Oh, you, knocked him out.” The King said, his eyes opened wide “Well, goodbye, then.” The King pushed the button. Axel’s head remained the same. “Wait, what’s going on?” He pushed to button once more. There was no respond from Axel. “How? I can’t.” Not giving him the chance to finish his words, Catherine fired both Anima and Lady Death at the screen. Afterward, she obliterated the computer with a Focus Blast.

Once the King was silenced, Catherine slowly dragged her feet to Celeste, who was desperately trying to revive Axel. With an exhausted motion, she poked Celeste's shoulder. “S’cute me, this may sound dumb. But what the fuck had just happened?”

Celeste turned around then quickly returned to Axel. “I, I, can’t talk right now.” The Sylveon stabbed the second hypo to his chest (the carbon tip of the needle had proven itself useful here) and checked for a pulse with her ribbon feelers. Realizing there was no pulse, Celeste put both her hand on his chest and started pushing down. No pulse, no respond. Celeste shut her eyes tight, trying to hold back the stinging feeling in them. With determination, she opened them and summoned another, stronger healing hypo. She forcefully jabbed it to his neck. Still no respond.

Catherine did not know what to say. Her body and mind were shaken by too many factor, the pain, the guilt and a sickening feeling of nostalgia from seeing a reenactment of the past. She composed herself and kneeled down. With her left hand on Celeste's shoulder, she said. “Celeste, it’s not worth it. He is dead.” Celeste just slapped it away and turned to Catherine. Could not hold back her tears anymore, she snapped at Catherine. “NO, HE’S NOT!!! WHO ARE YOU TO, TO. GAGH.” Catherine felt something within her crumble when she heard those words. It was so familiar that she was terrified by it. Celeste then returned to Axel and took out the empty healing hypo. Another crazy idea happened in the Sylveon. She immediately acted on it but biting one of her feelers. Bit it until blood stained her white fur. Her mouth shone as if she had just performed “Drain kiss” on herself. With that, she drew her lip to Axel’s neck. The opening caused by the hypo allowed her to transfer the life essence to him. Despite her effort, Axel just laid there, dead silent. Catherine looked down at her chest. The wound had been healed without her notice (at least from the outside). The malevolent voice returned to Catherine’s head _. “I know what you are thinking. Don’t. I work within the mind, blood transfusion is pointless.”_

_“I don’t know what the fuck you are talking about, but I want to try it.”_

Catherine rolled up her left sleeve, just above her elbow. “Use mine.” She told Celeste.

“What?” Celeste turned around with tears, yet curious eyes.

“If you think that going to work, then take mine. It’s better. No offense but have you seen half the shit I have done?”

“But, but.”

“Listen, I may not care about him as much as you do. But, since I have caused this, I want to help. Now cut the shit. Owww! Bitch! What the hell?” Celeste had sunken her teeth in Catherine’s arm. “You know what, screw everything I just said! God! I thought it was called “Drain kiss”, not biting the fuck out, ah, forget it!”

Celeste quickly transferred the life essence to Axel in the same manner. Afterward, Catherine put her hand on Celeste’s shoulder and both waited, anxiously. Axel skin was rapidly repairing itself, much faster than Celeste’s attempt with her serum and “Drain kiss”. The burned mark from both Catherine’s Holy Blade and Celeste grenades disappeared. The cut across his chest was healed. Celeste held on to Catherine's hand in anticipation.

Axel’s eyelids fluttered and opened. In a tired voice, Axel said. “What, the sodding hell just happened? I feel, everything, hurts. And why I got the, feeling that I’m naked?” Celeste did not say anything. She just gave him a tight embrace. “Okay, heh, nice to see you too.”

Catherine then helped her get him up. “Long story, let’s just get the fuck out of here first.”

Catherine’s comm then rang. Rick was at the other line. “Hey guys, The Foundation is here. Are you guys coming out anytime soon?”

“Yup, and tell them to get the medics. I’m bleeding like mad.”

“Okay, what the hell happened down there?”

“Long story, lots of internal bleeding.”

Half an hour later Catherine was outside, sitting in a Genesis Killian plane. A Chansey had finished treating her wounds and wrapped them up with bandages. Beside her laid her torn and blood-stained coat, along with her other equipment.  “Are you sure, you are fine?” The Chansey asked.

“Yup. I’m fine, thanks.”

“It is my pleasure.” The Chansey said before leaving.

Celeste then ran toward her, with a smile on her face. She was starting to look like her old self. “Hey, Catherine, how are you doing?”

“Eh, pretty good, still pissed off that your boyfriend nearly cut me in half but I’m good. I should get back on my feet in a few hours. How is Axel? Is he doing okay?”

“He will.” She then moved close to Catherine. “I won’t tell anyone about, your blood.”

Catherine was pleasantly surprised and relief. “You are indeed smarter than you appear to be. Thanks.”

“No, I should be thanking you. Things could have been much worse.” She then reached for her back pocket. “Here, a little gift, for you. It is not much, but that it’s all I have, for now.” Celeste then gave her a large blue ribbon. “Something, to help you cover the scar on your head.”

Catherine looked at the item. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Celeste put her head down. “Sorry, but I don’t…”

“Not pink? I expect that kind of shit from you.”

“Oh, I thought you look good in blue. I will.”

“Nah, I kidded. I like it. And sorry for, trying to, you know.’ Catherine moved her hand in awkward motion, trying to explain the situation.

“It’s fine. I did commit something of the same level. No one would know what to do. That was the best option you got.”

“Uh huh. Okay, now I’m bored. Let’s head home.”

“Here, let me help you with your stuff.” She then picked up Catherine’s coat.

Twenty minutes passed, Catherine, Celeste, Rick and Axel was on their Killian plane.

“So, do you remember anything at all?” Rick asked.

Axel replied while rubbing her head. “No, that jolt of electricity must have wiped it all.’

“Oh great, back to fucking square one.”

Rick then received a signal from his comm. “Oops, excuse me.”

“Is it Doc?” Celeste asked.

Rick shook his head. “Uh huh, yup, it is about time for you to do your part of the bargain.” Rick summoned a crystal notepad and typed in some numbers. “Yeah, good, uh huh, all right. See you, eh, tomorrow, need a break right now. Yup, you bet your ass it is.” Rick hung up. With a triumphed look, Rick announced to everyone. “Everyone, I got some helluva, helluva good news.”

* * *

 

Author's notes:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is my first ever story so please forgive any possible mistake in the future and help me fix them.

Thanks again and have a pleasant day.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. They belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. The songs I reference here belong to their respective artists as well.

 

With that out of the way, please enjoy this piece of fanfiction. 

* * *

 

Somewhere in the Outlands, deep underground

The Bandit King was levitating inside an enormous glass sphere. He was meditating. Bright purple psychic glow engulfed his body while his eyes shut tight. This allowed him to focus more energy on elevating his thoughts. The Plates (except for the Mind Plate on his back), which he had collected or stolen from were spinning around the sphere. They were going at such velocity that it was impossible to distinguish each. Outside, a few feet away from the sphere, his Zoaroak knight waited. The dark type’s head was constantly turning. His claws lacked the patience to separate from each other. He was struggling to tell his master the troublesome news.

 

(The song "Do the evolution" by Pearl Jam begins to play)

Chesterization proudly presents.

A Pokémon fanfiction

** Genesis **

(Song ends)

**Chapter 15: Leviathan**

A few hours before

“Okay, I found it.” Rave said from his pilot seat.

Doc opened the cockpit door. “Yes, perfect, not a moment too late.” He approached the pilot seat. “Though I must ask, are you certain that there are no other bandits in the area?” Doc looked through the main screen. The crystal slab was displaying an empty part of the Outland. The only thing that was not sand and rocks in the image was a bandit truck.

“Beat me. The radar and energy signatures suggest there is nothing out here. That car over there is the only thing in next few miles. I think we are safe.” Rave made some adjustments on the control console “but it doesn’t matter, to be honest. If the bandits have the technology to hide energy signatures, then I can’t do jack about it.” Rave replied while maintaining his neutral expression.

Doc nodded, hand on his chin. “Um, yes, appear so. If that is the case, just make the landing. Remember to pull out immediately once I give you the signal.”

“Sure, old man.” Said Rave as he activated the landing gears.

 “Good. Do what you need to do. I’ll tell the others.”  Doc exited the cockpit.

The Killian plane made its descent several yards away from the bandit truck. This truck was one of the bandit bigger vehicles. Besides the usual bandit spray paint and scrap metal armor, it had oversized tires, spikes, machine guns. These features made the plane approached the ground with caution.

Once Genesis’s plane touched dirt, the bandit’s car headlights lit up. The mid-day light outshone them, but that did not stop the Foundation crew from receiving the signal. The plane’s side door opened, made way for Catherine and her team.

Catharine was wearing the ribbon Celeste gave her the day before. She wore it more like a bandana with the tied bow moved to the back of her head. There was no blood stain whatsoever on the piece of fabric. Axel had recovered from most of the burn from the previous day. He wrapped himself up in bandages like a badly done mummy costume. Doc and Rick were still in their regular attires. However, Rick no longer carried that carefree look on his face. Instead, it was the same expression with his team: steel cold sternness.

This time, Rick took the lead and moved toward the truck, assault rifle in hand. As he was a few feet away, the sound of a megaphone blasted out from the truck. “You’re not bringing any more friends, aren’t you, Rick?” It was a familiar voice.

Rick stepped forward. “Nope, as you can clearly see.” He attached the gun to his back and gestured the others to lower their weapons.

“Good.” The voice from within said. The truck then went silent for a moment. “That is the cue for you to get out, you twat of a man.” the car shook and an Infernape bandit missing an eye was tossed out. A moment later, his Chestnaught companion exited the truck from the other door. Catherine tilted her head at the sight of the two bandits. She retraced her memory, to the first day they had met. Her eyes widen when Rick’s words back then began to make sense. “ _It will pay off huh? What kind of payoff?_ ”

After retrieved his shield, Cole waved at Rick. “Oi, how it’s going, motherfucker?”

Rick pointed at him. His face was less than amused. “Cut the bullcrap and give me what I asked for, now.”

Cole’s smile faded. “Jeez. Calm the fuck down man. You’re gonna turn into a wrinkled old prune with that fucking attitude. What happen to my booze-loving mentor?” The Chestnaught said while searching for something in his back pocket.

Rick added. “The King should know that you dumbasses escaped and took his loot by now. You better hurry the hell up.”

Cole shook his head lightly. “Nah. Wouldn’t be all too worry about that.” Cole tossed a balled up piece of paper to Rick. “The poor bugger has been busying sitting in a fish bowl all day, taking the piss, apparently. He won’t come out of that thing anytime soon.”

Catherine then turned to her team. All then exchanged a look of concern. “What is he doing there, actually?” Catherine asked. “And what the fuck is the fish bowl?”

Cole scratched the back of his smooth dome. “That? As far as I can tell, he’s trying to do something with the Plates. Meditating in a giant crystal ball while creating seizures warning with the Plates or some shit. The last time he tried to do so was with his hot pink plate, took him a day and freaking ever to get out. Doubt that he can recover fast enough with all of the Plates at once.”

Doc said. “How many Plates does he possess at the moment?”

“Well, let’s see.” Cole then counted the tips of his fingers. “How many chambers did the fuckers made us build?” He turned to Cain, yelled, “Cain, answer.”

The Infernape looked up to the sun, tilted his head. “Ehhhhhhhhhhhh, I don’t know.”

“Yup, no idea.” Cole shrugged and grinned.

With her fingers curled into fists, Catherine spat. “No clues? How in the flying fuck, can both of you be so nonchalant about this? He could have world-ending power. God knows how much he can fuck up everything.”

“Well, the planet is fucked, either way, so heh. At least we have something to enjoy ourselves before everything going to arse.”

Catherine edged forward “You, CAN’T BE SERIOUS!” Another shrug from the duo proved just how oblivious they were. Axel’s hands prevented her from going further for an attack. Cain shot her a weird look with his remaining eye. He slowly drew a grin across his face. It was not a mischievous nor joking grin, but an apologetic one. The same kind of grin a child would give when he failed to satisfy an adult’s absurd expectation.

Catherine quickly defused her rage, shook Axel’s hand off and walked away. Her feet kicked any piece of rock on her path. While she wandered off, Axel stood still and observed the horizon behind the bandit truck, prepared for any bandit that might show up. Rick kept his eyes on Cole and his associate, while Doc examined the piece of paper. After Doc had tested what written in the note, he gave Rick a nod.  Rick turned to Cole. “Enjoy yourself huh? That rings a bell. Oh, where is my fabricator? I want it back.” The Emboar extended his hand. “Come, give it to me, boy.”

Cole took a step back. The smile on his face deteriorated completely. “Oh, come on, Rick. How in the fuck do I suppose the keep all the loot I robbed from the nob head?”

“That is your issue, son, not mine.” Rick pointed his finger at Cole. “I’m not letting you perform any more heist, on or off the Outlands, whether this world got fucked sideways or not. Rick advanced forward; his pointed finger began to press on Cole’s chest. “Take whatever you need and give the machine back to me. NOW.”

He slapped Rick’s hand away. “Are you taking the ever loving piss? How in the fuck am I supposed to carry them? On my dick? I know it’s big, but it is not Arceus’s golden cock, god damn it.”

“And the award for the most offensive line goes to Cole Grace,” Cain announced in the voice of a sports commenter. The Infernape then whispered. “I told you that we should get a bigger truck.”

“Hush, functioning adults are talking.” Cole shoved Cain aside with his hand.

Doc then came in the conversation. “Well, that could be arranged. Just give me the device and I’ll make a few adjustments that would satisfy you both. I shall make the device self-destruct in the next twelve hours. It should be enough time for you to get a bigger vehicle for your needs.”

Cole slapped his forehead. “There is taking the piss and being the world biggest urinal. Your idea was the latter. You think I’m stupid?”

“Probably,” Cain said.  

“Cain, my dear, would you mind fuck off? Nobody asked for your opinions.” Cole stuck out his finger. Cain just slowly moved away, dragging his feet on the ground.

Rick asked, “How much loot did you take from the King anyway?”

Cole immediately responded. “Eh, I believe the answer is in the realm of, none-of-your-fucking-business.”

“My plan; my device; I spared your life. It is my fucking business!” Rick said.

While the others were negotiating in a heated manner, Catherine found herself a rock to sit on. Her hand held on to the ritual knife. She thought of what to come. If what they had said was true, then these two could lead Genesis to the King. On top of that, if the King were in a stasis state like the Chestnaught said, now would be the perfect moment to strike. However, all that seems, easy. _“All too easy. What if…“_

“Hey, how ya doing? Still alive? Good. It is nice to be alive, isn’t it?” Cain’s voice interrupted Catherine’s thoughts.

She quickly hid away the knife. “The fuck  are you doing here?” She then remembered their first “encounter”.  “I’m in no mood for a rematch, you lunatic.”

The Infernape reached his head up and squeezed out a laugh. “Rematch? Hahaha, I changed my mind. Battling is pointless, that I have just realized. Why fight, when I can have a new and better life, with reasons, purpose, and meaning?  Especially, one bought with shining coins: the most valuable kind of all. With all that money, I can be a chef. Yeah, that’s what I want now.”

Catherine squinted her eyes. “Are you…quite alright?”

Cain put his hands on his hip. He looked up and got himself in a motivational speaker stance. “Nope. Am I serious? Maybe. Fighting, it used to by my temporary calling for 10 years. But after a while, I realized, fight and death are pointless. You win, you kill someone and eventually, someone better, more powerful kills you. Nothing to gain, everything is lost.” Noticed Catherine’s puzzling face, he shifted his tone. “Why these radical changes seem to come out of nowhere? Well, dear, you don’t know me that well. And life is very much like a Womadam that constantly moving around. It’s always changing and shifting its coat.”

Catherine stood up. “Last time I check, Womadam don’t change forms after evolution.” She then faced him. “And if you are not here to fight me, then, what are you here for?”

“Potato, po-tah-to, not the point. Just, hehe, wanna say goodbye, I’ll be free, but you are not. Now with money, I can finally get my dream job. Or at least my six years old self’s dream job. I’ll go to Arcadia, buy acceptance and everything I have ever dreamed of.”

Catherine rolled her eye. “You do realize that none of it matter if the King destroys everything right?”

“What make you say that? As far as I can tell, the only beef he got is with Genesis or specifically a certain Doctor.” Catherine stopped and thought about that line. “But, you’re right. With too much power, one could be bored and curiosity would jump in like a midnight home invasion. Curiosity could kill a lot more than a few Skitty. Hehehe, get it?”

Catherine’s palm now covered her eyes. “If this is all you have to say, then sorry, I don’t have the time for your bullshit.” She started to walk away from him.

Cain maintained his smile while his eyes closed. “No, I have a second reason to come here. I want you to protect my new life.”

Catherine turned around, with her left eye closed. “What? Come again.” She was confused by the lack of lunacy within that sentence.

Cain continued. “The King is not too kind toward traitors, which am I one right now. So I must ask you a favor. Kill him, fast, quick, and guaranteed.” He reached out his hand. A cluster of dark aura was swirling in his palm.

Catherine looked at it and asked. “What are you trying to…”

“This is a little something to help you on your way. “ His tone and voice changed. It became heavier and serious. “This is no gift. It is just more of the curse that we got.”

“Then why are you giving me more of him?”

“Oh, just pure personal gain. I’m giving away what I regret about the most. Took this out of blind hope a few years ago, it didn’t pay off too well.”

“Obviously.” Catherine crossed her arm. “Still doesn’t answer my question, though.”

“Ah ah ah, be patient dearie. I know this is I being dodgy, but I believe you have enough strength to carry all this. What good is a power like this do, when I trying to pick myself up? Collecting all the broken pieces and then just screw them up with an unfortunate discharge? You, on the other hand, are going to stick with him for a long time. Your life is already screwed up and it would just get worst from there.”

“Hey, hey, FUCK YOU!” Catherine pulled back her fist.

Cain showed his palm. “Hehe, don’t take this too personally. What I meant is that: you are expected to kill a lot and kill well, better get you set up. Right? Power should be in a capable hand, not some lunatic wandering the Outland. I don’t trust Genesis, but I kinda trust you. You have a much stronger conscience.”

Catherine did not take it as a compliment. “Really? Dearie, you don’t know me that well.” She answered with her hands on her hip as well.

“Oh, don’t be too hard on yourself. We all make mistakes. Whatever you did wrong, I pretty sure, you had your reasons. Right?”

She paused, delayed on answering him, instead, said. “I don’t expect you to say all this.”

Cain stretched a smile on his face. “You thought I was crazy, didn’t you? Well, living in here long enough and you will see why. But enough about me. Just take this and kill the King, would you?” He held out his hand, the dark whirling orb began to grow.

Catherine hesitated for a moment. Her hand wanted to reach out and grab that swirl of power, but her mind tried its best to hold back. She did not know what else followed her train of thought, but she made a snap decision. “Well, if you say so. Then I accept.”

“Excellent. You know how to do this, right?”

“Usually, when I do this, someone dies.”

“Oh, first time huh? It’s easy. Just take my hand, don’t make this weird, though.”

She could hear a gulp sound came from within her throat as her left arm extended. For a second she felt like it had lost half of its weight. The voice within her head was silent. It did not use any temptation on her. It knew what she was going to do, regardless of what it might say. She took Cain’s hand. The Infernape immediately grasped it tightly, almost crushing her bone. Catherine bit down hard; not letting a whim escapes her mouth. The little mist of dark aura in Cain’s hand grew substantially, swallowing his entire arm. Soon, it latched on Catherine’s hand like a leech. Catherine could feel blood coming out from her gum as the cloud of corruption burned into her skin. The leech of aura then left Cain’s arm and crawled into Catherine’s body. She closed her eyes and felt it wiggling inside like swarm of insects. This was the first time she absorbed the voice while completely retain her consciousness. The malevolent voice was laughing, enjoying every bit of the experience, as always.

After a while, the rest of her body went numb. Cain used his other hand to hold her shoulder, keeping her standing up. Catherine tightened whatever muscle she had left in her control and keeping the frame of her body up. “Just a little more, I promise.” She could not hear his words. She was too concentrated on keeping herself together.  

Once Cain decided it was enough, he let go, as promised. Catherine’s body frame experienced sudden lightness from the abrupt ending. No surprise, Catherine fell down. She lied flat on the sand for few seconds until Cain blocked her view of the sun. “Feeling it? The maddening power?” Cain said.

“Stop with that shit. I already know he is powerful.” Catherine said, with a drunken tone.

“Are you still you?”

“What the fuck is that supposes to mean?”

Cain just grinned. “No matter, just a madman’s ramble.” He offered his hand. “Here, get up.”

She took his hand. “I don’t feel that much more powerful, though.” She said after dusted herself.

Cain said with a flirtatious tone. “Oh, you want more?”

“Well, yeah. Isn’t it better if I have more power to deal with the King? I’ve already taken it this far, why the fuck not? Go all the way.”

“Heh, I would love to, but I can’t. I don’t need to worry about you. I just kinda trust you.”

“Sound likes a fucking broken record here. What the fuck do you mean? Stop with this cryptic bullshit.”

“I can’t do that; brain got fried a few years back.” He pointed to his temple.  “And yes, overpowering is great, but have too much of that, might make you more bonker than I already am. How long til it eat you up, like a fat kid in a candy store? I have given you a lot and all I can give. Use it wisely.” Catherine rubbed her forehead with both her hands. She started to claw on the thin skin as time go on.

“Arghhh, what the fuck are you going on about?”

“Aw, don’t be grouchy, it makes you look old.” He reached out his hand, got dangerously close to her cheek.

Her hands left her forehead. She glared at him. “Don’t fucking touch me.”

Cain backed away. “Sure. Here is something to cheer you up. Have my shotgun.” Cain handed over his saw-off shotgun to her. “Not that I don’t like her. We just can’t be together anymore. Like her?” After the whole confusing mess of a speech that Cain gave her and the burn of the corrupting power, Catherine just snatched the shotgun from him.

With pride, he introduced his other companion to her. “She used to have a name, but I forgot. Just call her my shotgun. She is not ”meticulous” with ammo. The handle is made from Keeper's bone. You should be able to charge “his” energy into the chamber and fire two wondrous blasts in each trigger pull.”

Catherine touched the stock and felt a strange vibration. As if something inside it resonated with her hands. “His energy, you mean the voice?”

“Yeah, what else? Monster of the abyss? Oh wait, eh, cotton candy or something? Hehe. Sorry, I was confused a bit there.”

Catherine rolled her eyes once more and deconstructed the gun.

“Oh, I never get tired of seeing that effect,” Cain commented on seeing his beloved turned into blue dust.

Catherine’s comm rang, letting Doc’s voice came through. “Catherine, have you seen the Infernape?”

“Yeah. He’s here, with me.” She answered. Her voice lacked any interest.

“Good. We have finished the negotiation here. Told him to return.”

Cain offered her a handshake. “Well, I guess this is goodbye huh?”

Catherine took it, felt nothing this time. “Really hoping that to be true. Thanks for the gun by the way.”

“No, thank you,” Cain grinned.

 

Back to the present time, within the stronghold of the Bandits Kingdom

The Plate outside of the sphere had stopped spinning. Their appearance had become clear. There were ten in total: Fairy, Ground, Electric, Steel, Fist, Bug, Normal, Dragon, Ice and Water. They shone brilliantly once; until strange containers rose from the floor and captured them. The containers then sunk back to the floor. The clanking sound of metal suggested that the containers were moving underneath. The entire structure of the underground stronghold then shook and seemingly growled. As if a beast had awakened.

The Bandit King opened his eyes. A crooked smile slowly stretched across his face. He snapped his finger and slowly levitated to the exit of the sphere. The Zoaroak immediately dashed toward him in the mist form. His sudden appearance does not faze the King at all. The Zoaroak bowed once. “Master, I have troubling news.”

The King raised his eyebrow. “Tell me then. Don’t you worry? The power of these Plates, though partially, are in our hands.  Regardless of the bad news, we can crush it, under our might.”

“Cain and Cole had escaped.  They have also taken the treasure from the vault.”

“Those two?” The King closed his eyes. “How disappointing. When?”

“Hours after you began the process, master.”

The King retained a grin. “Ah, clever, picked the best time, to betray me.” The Zoaroak took a step back, expecting a burst of fury from the King. His prediction was wrong.  “No matter, we will find them, and kill them in time. What have they taken?”

The Zoaroak bowed down, his hands clutched tight to each other. “Our, entire treasure vault.”

The King tilted his head in disbelief. “How, did they stole five tons of gold and artifacts and got away with it? Under our nose nonetheless.”

“At first, we did not notice. We thought they just broke out and ran away. But when we check, that was when we find out, the vault was empty and all the guards were dead. They appeared to have obtained one of Genesis digital fabricator. Not just any kind of regular fabricator, it seems.”

The King bit down his teeth, maintaining the calm appearance. “Well, this is no time to be mad. They are just treasures, and we can always, get them back. Once the world is aware of our power, the amount we lost would be a beggar’s fortune. As for the traitors, we will hunt them down, just like the rest.”

A loud noise came from beyond the walls. The Zoaroak took out a walkie-talkie. “Report, what was that?” From the other end, a random bandit screamed. “We are under siege! Multiple iron birds are heading our way. They look like Genesis’s.”

The smile on the King’s face grew wider. “Ah, they had planned to betray me all this time huh? In cahoots with him as well. Hahaha, let’s show them, how big of a mistake that was.” He clapped. “Prepare the Leviathan.”

“Yes, master.” The Zoaroak bowed back.

The King then levitated and get back inside the sphere. The Mind plate shone brilliantly.

 

Outside, above the ground, dozens of Killian planes were hovering around a long abandon asylum on top of a large empty hill. Asylum only in the name branded on its rusty gate. At first glance, the facility resembled a prison more than anything. From a distance, one could only see high walls, observing towers, barbwire fences, dull and windowless buildings. These buildings cast a long shadow all the way down to the foothill. The shadow was so long that it obscured lump of mass grave along the way.

The Killian planes surrounded the facility like a swarm of hornets, preparing to invade a colony of meek honeybees. The Foundation’s vehicle propped up their cannons. The weapons fired at the asylum’s walls.  After a few direct hits, the illusion of the long abandoned asylum turned into an unfinished castle; built upon the crushed remains of the real facility. Traces of turrets, defense towers were littered all the way from the top to the bottom of the hill. The only thing remained from the original location were barbwire fences, walls and the gate that said, “Babylon Asylum”. The Killian planes continued firing, clear out the way to the castle and breaching the outside walls. The Foundation paid special attention to the bandit helicopters parked in the yard of the castle, preemptively crippled the bandit’s chances to escape as well as retaliate. All the scrap metal helicopters combusted and flung toward each other, causing a chain reaction of sparkling bang.

The bandits were now running amok, grabbing whatever weapon they could. Some managed to climb on the observation towers. Pick up the rocket launchers and fired a few shots at the planes. Most of the rockets missed and were shot down midway by Killians’ onboard machine guns. The bandits managed to take down a few Killian's plane. In an assault like this, casualties is inevitable. What matter were how many forces left to continue the attack. The Foundation had plenty. For this battle alone, they had gather all the agents from all other bases. In addition, to ensure victory, they brought in a small army of grunts as well.

Catherine contributed to the battle by firing the onboard machine guns. Beside her were Axel and his sniper rifle. After getting rid of the rockets, she turned to the observation towers and shot them down with hails of bullets. The hot lead just seemingly melted through them, both the metal of the tower and the bandits. Once she could not see any other targets, she turned to the team. And said, “Clear!”

Axel said while zooming in on a target. “I…still can’t believe that Genesis rally up everyone this quick.”

“Yeah, me either. We just tell them and bam, we’re here, going ham on these sons of bitches.” Rick replied while loading up his machine guns.

“Time like this, taking risks is the best strategy. However, I would recommend otherwise, but oh well. The decision has already been made.” Doc made some final adjustment to his arm.

“So, what is our commander intend for this one, Doc?” Said Axel as he shot down one unfortunate bandit with his rifle.

“The end goal: leveling that castle, killing everything and securing the Plates.”

Rick stood up with two machine guns in his hands. “I can work with that, simple and easy to remember.” He slowly approached the doorway. “Okay. Like our Arcadian president once said: It’s time for us to haul ass, and kick ass.” he turned the safety of his guns off. ”Wooooo,” Rich shouted instances before jumping off from the plane then activated his Hell Raiser.

Rick crashed on the ground like a medium-sized meteorite. His weight shook the area around him. The bandits were tossed up and burned like fallen leaves. Rick launched himself from the crater he had created and landed on a bandit, crushing whatever Pokémon underneath. With his eyes burning red, he pulled the triggers.

Doc summoned his submachine gun and slapped on the cockpit door. “Rave, good luck with everything. Also, don’t die. We need a vehicle to get back.”

“Jeez, thanks a bunch old man.” Rave then made the plane land gently near the foothill. “Alright, go, you idiots, murder them all!” He yelled from the comfort of his pilot seat. From there, the rest of the crew leaped off the plane and entered the battlefield; carpeted by the lifeless body of the bandits and the previously deployed grunts.

(The song “The only thing I know for real” from Metal Gear Raising begins to play)

‘RAMPAGE. KILL. KILL. KILL.’ That was Rick and his traditional Hell Raiser state. The flaming bullets just picked off the body part of each bandit that he set sight on. Despite receiving cover fire from the grunts and other agents, he kept on firing, even if some shots were on dead bodies. Even with the odd stack against them, the bandits kept on coming toward Rick, and the others. They were no longer Pokémon, but mindless drones. In their head were just simple commands: walk, attack and listen to whatever the King and his knight told them to. Rick ran a bit; gaining momentum for an Inferno Bitch Slap that cut a Machoke in half, and burned off one-half afterward. He then slammed his foot on the ground, made a thunderous sound that paralyzed the bandits and obliterated them with his rocket launcher.

Catherine was not far behind him. In her left hand was Cain’s shotgun with a small cloud of dark aura swirling around the stock. To her right was the Cerberus. This was the first time she plunged into battle without Lady Death and Anima. But with the hoard of cannon fodders kept rolling her way, firepower is needed. She pulled the trigger on Cain’s weapon. From the barrel, two blacken orbs shot out and latched onto the flesh of a Scrafty bandit. The corruption helm itself into his body, causing pain indicated by the ear-splitting scream. Once the orbs helmed inside the bodies, the bandit exploded, spraying organ and blood over Catherine. She shook the blood off her eyes and aimed flame mode Cerberus.

Doc and Axel followed behind. Doc was waiting until entering the base to unleash full force. The same applied to Axel. In all this chaos, they just provide covering fire. Doc had another job, which replenished the barriers of the agents in front of him with his arm.

By their sides were other agents and far in front of them all was the Electivire. With his humongous dual blade sword electrified, the Electivire tore, rend, maimed and crush all the bandits. He used the gap between the blades to trap the neck of a Machoke and twisted it as effortless as clay. In one well swipe, he dragged the body and used the saw blade to make the wound on other bandits surrounding the Machoke the more bloody, messy and painful. Afterward, he plucked the head of the Machoke off and freed his blade. When his hand was tired of the twisting and chopping motion, he raised the blade upward and commanded thunder to rain down on the enemies.

A Rhyperior popped up from the underground and blocked his path. The ground type slammed his fist together, a failed attempt to flinch the Electivire. Before the Electivire dropped down his blade and prepared to attack. A black shadow dashed passed him and punched through the Rhyperior’s head with a sharp “crack” sound. In seconds, the Electivire was no longer leading the charge. Instead, it was the Weavile with the duel metal claw. The headless Rhyperior fell to the ground. The Weavile left behind the blood oozed body of the Rhyperior behind and advanced. The Electivire just grunted and followed her.

Catherine was not the only one with two shotguns for this fight. The Lucario was known as Boomer, who tend to get into a needless argument with Tammy was there, a few feet away from Catherine. He was mowing down the opposition with twin automatic shotguns while his Gallade partner was giving him cover fire with a 3-rounds-burst rifle. Occasionally, the Gallade shot a grappling hook from his cybernetic arm to the faces of bandits and snapped their necks with a forceful pull. In a successful pull, Boomer complement “Nice one, Ves! You are getting better at this.”

Celeste and Craig did not join the battle, but Bryan and Leon could. They were circling around. Leon focused on the weaker bulk with his Gatling guns while Bryan was drilling his way through the vehicle or machine gun turrets.

Behind them were the rest of the agents and grunts. Some were familiar like Tammy, Ray, Lazarus, Nate while the rest were strangers to Catherine. All of them did what they do best, killing. Whether with sniper rounds, explosive, punches, hammer loaded with shotgun shells or even more punches. Their methods were different, but their goal was the same. At the end of that day, the place must be destroyed along with its inhabitants. Sadly, they did not come in here through their own volition.

After a few minutes of storming through the bandit's grunts, the agents were finally at the iron gate of the Babylon Asylum. The Weavile broke down the gate with an upward slash from her claws. After the gate fell and the troop flooded in.

The Grunt fanned out and covered the area around the yard, while the agents raid the castle. The Electivire smashed open the wooden gate. The bandits from within immediately fired at him. He blocked the sword in front of his face like a shield and rushed forward. The bandits all backed away, trying to figure out his intention. The Electivire sprinted and bashed the face of one. The blow knocked him on his back, opened a room for the Electivire to decapitate him. All the bandits from the second floor peered down and rained lead at the agents. The Foundation members quickly found cover and analyzed their environment.

This hall was wide and littered with chunks of broken walls from the old asylum. As a result, it provided them with plenty of room for cover. The midday sunlight pierced through the cracks of an unfinished castle, illuminating the hung, rotten corpses on the ceiling alongside with the chandelier made with poor artisanship. The walls were all splattered with traces of extra cement slapped on. The bandits tried to hide it with decorations of faded brown red royal banners. Underneath everyone feet was obviously any kind of discarded carpet sewing together and covered with grimy blood.

The bandits within the castle put up some resistance, fired their weapons with covers provided by the balcony, cracks, and nooks in the wall. Some bandits just try to make it work by kicking down a table. Regardless of what stopped the initial bullets from hitting them, eventually, all of their covers proven useless once the agents performed their jobs.

Doc loaded up his grenade launcher and deployed a smoke grenade on one side of the upstairs balcony, forcing the bandits to stop firing. Once they were on their knees coughing  about, Doc launched one of his turrets up. The device stuck to the wall and deployed itself. The machine gun attached to the turret executed all the bandits in a full-auto 5 seconds burst. Ray the Sableye had a much quicker idea. He tossed a handful of sticky explosives to the base of the second balcony and detonated them. The second-floor balcony crumbled and fell down, along with a group of four bandits. The agents just finished them off with the weapon the moment the first bandit started moving. Some bandits hiding in the nooks of the wall braved up and walked out while blindingly fire their assault rifles. The Greninja agent along with Axel quickly put their assault to rest. The Greninja stabbed one Machoke bandit in the heart. His death came quick and clean, unlike Axel’s target. Axel slashed his Machoke in the leg, forcing the Pokémon to kneel down in agony; half a second before Axel gracefully switched the position of his blade and removed the Machoke head in one well swipe.

The set of doors separated this room to the next turned into smithereens as seven or so bandits with giant shields barged in. The hulking present of them forced the Greninja to fall back and Axel to enter his invisibility. Catherine instantly flanked them from with her teleportation. The bandits behind the shields did not know why their back suddenly felt flash heat and pain. They dropped their shield, exposed themselves. Axel reappeared behind one bandit and stabbed her through the throat, giving the Rhydon no chance to scream. The rest of the agent advanced forward and executed them, with their respected close range weapons. Afterward, the agents moved deeper into the castle; painted the floor with the blood of the bandits as they went.

After sections and sections of the castle had been clear, the agents went deeper and deeper into the castle. The more progress they made, the more bandits cowering in fear. The bandits could no long believe that this crooked, hollow body of a castle to protect them anymore. That was not the only thing that changed. As time passed, the more features of the old asylum began to pop up. Long, messy hall stained with blood, metal protection bars, and ripped-out-foam wall were apparent. No agent noticed any of these changes, for most were fixated on seeking and kill while some focusing on finding the Plates.

They finally reached a large mess hall. This was the only place of the old asylum that seemed to survive completely. All the metal tables and chair remained where they should be. These unanimated objects had no choice in the matter, for they were nailed to the floor. The row of rooms where the nurses and staffs reside was mostly intact, except for the absence of the protecting sheet of glass. The ground underneath them began to shift. Everyone was dumbfounded for a moment; wondering how or what could have caused that.

From the outside, after the grunts had cleared out all traces of bandits, the castle started to shake. An earthquake soon happened and the castle began to break apart. The castle was not set for a collapse. Instead, it was slowly rising up. A large crack appeared from the middle, joining all the smaller cracks together. The large crack then slithered up to the roof. Once it did, the two pieces of the building separated. A loud, unidentifiable screech came from between the two pieces. A nightmarish amount of metal, pipes, earth, rocks and raw sewage burst out from the ground and crushed the remains of the building into boulders sized chunks. The entire area was then covered in psychic glow. The concoction of what had come from the ground and concrete from the building automatically formed into a shape. The components of the horrid yet-to-form creature gathered up tightly, almost ramming into each other. The leftover bandits, who were shot but fortunate enough not to be killed, started chanting something. They said. “The Leviathan is coming. Prepare thyself.”

All the agents and pilots from the outside witnessed as the shape of the creature became clear. The general “body” was that of a serpent with the size of thirty-two bundled up bullet trains. The head was nothing more but a gaping mouth. Its metal teeth were stacked into rows, constantly opened and closed. From afar, Rave could see a few corpses caught in between the biting motions. The mouth opened wide, let the voice of the King come out. “Behold, the Leviathan, the beast from the tales of old, the devourer of kingdoms.”

“What the hell just happened?” A random agent asked on the radio, while the rest was silent. The giant serpent stretched out from the ground. It cast a looming shadow over the agents, who were about to join in the raid. The agents did the sensible thing. Instead of running in a straight line, trying to outrun the stretching shadow, they all dashed to the sides. The same could not be said for the grunts.

The agents all turned their head back, watching as the creature fell flat on the ground in an eardrum-shaking crash; slamming on all the grunts like fat tire rolled flat on a group of ants. In less than a blink of an eye, the agent felt a shockwave that knocked them away.

A few moments later, the agents quickly got up. Their head and ears might still be ringing, but that was the least of their worries. They picked up their weapons and open-fired at the lump of metal and raw sewage a few yards away. The bullet splattered the foul and grimy fluid on the ground. That was all the damage they could do. Soon, the still standing agents blasted the serpent with all their range weapons. The combination of attacks created a messy visual of fire, chemical, electric explosions, dubbed with the screeching sound of hot rounds colliding with the metal scales of the creature. From all the sparks and flame, black smoke came with the odor of sewage vapor crept to the nostrils of agents. The thick scent was enough to make any Pokémon sick, some agents were even blinded by their own tears.

The serpent shook its body once. The sudden movement made the agents seized fire. The toxic black smoke was left to crawl to the atmosphere.  The agents could see the effect of their assaults on the target. The agents stayed still, put on their gas masks and held on to their respected weapon. They then waited for the result. Once the smoke was completely clear, they could see burning orange traces accompanied the holes on the Leviathan’s skin. The raw sewage from within oozed out from these holes, cooled off the burning metal and made more of the black smoke and toxic fume. Once the burning orange disappeared from the metal skin, the Leviathan moved forward. Some of its metal scales broke off in the process. The agents resumed firing at the creature as it sped up. In mere seconds, the massive serpent got out of their range and headed off to the horizon. The voice of the King then came through once more “Watch in despair as the mighty Agni nation crumble.”

From within one of Genesis command centers, Anna stared in shock as the screens streaming footages of the Leviathan heading toward Agni.  Her sense of duty snapped herself out of the trance. She immediately contacted Lucious.

“Mr. Lucious, I have…”

“Yes, I am aware of it. The updates are flooding my office. Anna, contact the agents, told them to gather themselves and pull out. In the meantime, I would make a few calls to the Agni nation, warn them about this.”

Another line hopped in their conversation: it was Markov’s line. “Are you seriously considering that? Agni is a barbaric nation, with its foreign diplomacy. They can turn on us. No, they will do so, if they have us to blame, for the damage this thing about to cause.”

Lucious responded. “In all fairness, we would make ourselves less suspicious to them if we do so. This is a simple warning, nothing more. We just happen to see this thing passing, though, that is all. And should this thing ravages Agni, you think they have enough effort to turn on us? To the one that warns them and giving them time to prepare themselves? They might be barbarians, but they are not without reasons”

Markov’s sigh got in the line. “It is true.”

“You should focus on evacuating the Delta base instead. Those are the real risks to us. Let Agni handle this thing.”

Lucious terminated his transmission, prompting Anna to contact the agents at the field. 

“This is Anna Genesis. All agents return to the base, immediately. Wasting your lives is dangerous and unnecessary. Please, return.”

Anna did not expect her announcement to be heard within the beast, but that was what happened. With hand drenched deep in foul liquid, Boomer answered his communicator. “Ms. Executive, no offense, but that is fucking impossible right now.”

Catherine woke up and found herself surrounded by a gentle hum for a train. Her head was spinning, feeling as if she had just woken up from a long uncomfortable nap. Her eyes were having a hard time adjusting to the blinding sunlight from the outside of the train window. _“Train, what, why am I, here?”_ She looked to her right. What she saw put her heart at ease. It was her mother, resting her head on the seat cushion. She was the exactly as Catherine remembered her to be. She was the same Gardervoir, wearing the same blue priestess dress with a white large brooch. A thin, light blue silk scarf wrapped around her neck. And most important of all, she was as tall as Catherine remember. Almost as if Catherine had shrunk down and become younger.

Catherine did not know what had happened, how she got on this train, or even what she had been doing way before that. All of that were no longer matters, her mother was here, and she would never let her go. Catherine slowly lifted her mother’s hand up and slowly snuggled her head into her mother embrace. Despite her best attempt to not waking her mother up, she failed and her punishment was a gentle pat on her head. The warmth of her mother’s caress gently soothed her into slumber.

As she was about to fall back to sleep, something grabbed her by the chest. Her mother’s hand on her head suddenly grew weight. She felt like it was snuffing her, as she was struggling to breathe. The grip on her chest became forceful. The invisible hand then dug its claws into her body and reached deep into her heart.

“Catherine, wake up! You must wake up. Don’t you dare slipping away!”

* * *

 

Author's notes:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is my first ever story so please forgive any possible mistake in the future and help me fix them.

Thanks again and have a pleasant day.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. They belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. The songs I reference here belong to their respective artists as well. With that out of the way, please enjoy this piece of fanfiction

* * *

 

Moments before the Leviathan’s awakening

The agents held their ground as the vibration increased in magnitude. They checked their surroundings, expected some form of ambush from the bandits. They could not utter a word to each other because of a feeling of elevation took whole of their feet. Before they could get a better grip on the situation, the sound of stone breaking appeared from below. The center of the hall broke wide-open, transforming the floor into an expanding hole that looked down a dark abyss. The ceiling tore open, letting the afternoon glow pierce through.

Pieces of tiles and cement dust were speeding to the hole; as if something was breathing them in. The hole on the floor grew and growled, urging the agents to start retreating. The hallway behind them suddenly crushed and mashed into itself, blocked all paths. The wind came from above to below increased in force and velocity. It almost dragged Ray and a few medium-sized agents toward the pit. Catherine immediately intervened. She slammed her fist down, activated her Gravity. The force exerted from what left of the floor pinned the agents, like flies on a windshield. A few second later, the agents frantically fanned themselves out and went for the walls. Their steps were sluggish and pathetic, yes, but it was better than ended up in the hole. The Weavile was the first to hop on the wall. She just sunk her golden claws to it and climbed up. Unlike other, the ice type did not wait for Catherine to reverse Gravity to the walls.

When the last agent was walking vertically, the walls began to crack and compress themselves, though slowly. As sudden as their appearance, the sunlight above was blocked away, by mass of concrete, black sludge, and steel seemingly morphed and mashed together. These materials seemed to originate from all the hallways and rooms that they had passed. The pieces aligned in a straight tube, like a digestive system. Sludge and other foul substances invaded the inside through every crack on the walls. The top part of the once-intact mess hall started closing like a set of teeth, biting down.  

“Shit!” Catherine whispered, before she began to teleported upward. All other agents, noticed the closing part, started to speed up in their own way. The agents managed to get over the closing part. However, Rick lagged behind. His stubby legs and mass were failing him. To make matter worse, Catherine’s Gravity field grew weaker the further things were from her. No doubt, Rick had the weakest gravity at that moment. The Emboar could not see it coming until his feet began to slide downward on the slimy wall. When he noticed it, he fell down. His cry of surprise and hopelessness turned into string that echoed along the tube system.

Catherine halted. She turned back and looked over the shoulders of other agents. Her vision caught Rick clinging onto the wall, a dozen meters away from the closing gate and twice the distance away from her. His hands held the drills that stabbed deep in the blacken wall. Catherine yelled, “Everybody grabs on to something”. Before they could respond, the Gravity field disappeared. Catherine instantly teleported toward Rick; she gave the agents no time to criticize her.

Rick’s left foot slip on the wall for the third time, his weight pulled him down even further. His grip on the drill grew weaker. Rick saw how the walls above him were closing and everyone had left him behind. Just as Rick was thinking about giving up, Catherine’s hands supported his back. He looked to the left and screamed at her. “What the hell are you doing? Get out of here.”

“Don’t pull that shit on me! No one gets left behind when I’m around.”

“If you’re here, then who keep them up?”

Catherine concentrated her mind, created a platform with her psychic glow. She placed it under Rick’s foot and started boosting him up. “Don’t ask stupid shit. Let’s go ya lazy ass.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him up.

The Weavile looked down and saw Catherine and Rick’s struggle to get closer to the closing slime wall. She decided to leave the agents behind and slid down. In second, she climbed over the decreasing gap and reached Catherine.

Catherine said while moving another inch upward. “Good, thank you for”

The Weavile grabbed Rick shoulder and said with a calm voice. “It’s too late.”

“What, are you high? The fucking the thing is still opeee…shit.” She said as the closed gate obscured the dim leftover light completely. The Weavile did not answer; instead, she pushed her foot against the grimy wall and planted herself firmly.

A shift in gravity within the place came. An unknown force from behind their back attracted the three of them. Too soon for anyone to realized what up was now sideway, Catherine and Rick were flung and slammed into the other wall, hard. A lump of metal in the opposite wall hit the back of Catherine’s skull, rendered her unconscious.

(The song "Do the evolution" by Pearl Jam begins to play)

Chesterization proudly presents.

A Pokémon fanfiction

** Genesis **

****(song ends)

**Chapter 16: Kings fall but chaos will ever remain**

Back at the present

“Oh, thank god you’re still alive,” Rick said while his head hovering above Catherine’s vision. Catherine felt a small, sharp pain in her chest as Rick pulled out an empty syringe from her. Rick tried to help her up by supporting her head with his clumsy and rough hand.

“Yeah, argh, appreciate the love, but, please, I can do it myself.” She said and slowly got herself up. Her left hand gripped on the back of her head. She felt a hard bump and something wet. She took her hand back just to confirm it was not blood. It was not, it was the sludge. Catherine tried to dust herself, but all she had done was spreading a dark sticky fluid on the fabric of her coat.

Rick stood up and took a step back. “Oh, sorry, for a moment I thought you were out for good.”

She said, “Not today it seems” and gave him a chuckle, prompted Rick to do the same. Catherine looked around. This was the first time she got the chance to inspect the world around her. Despite knowing that she was still in the same building, yet the environment seemed to reflect another world altogether. The inside of wherever they were, was lit up, though faintly with a few red lights placed in random order and places: ceilings; lined on the wall like stray illuminating ants; and on the floor. Everywhere and everything was moving, but not in a mechanical sense. All this looked and sounded alive: pulsating; breathing; beating, and contracting. The sludge was the blood and the flesh was the concrete.

At the far left of everything, she saw the Weavile with her arm crossed and her mouth constantly moving. The two gigantic golden claws were placed on the sides of her belt, dangling like two extra limbs. She had a look back and found out Catherine had awoken. The Dark type quickly wrapped up her conversation and headed back to Rick and Catherine.

Catherine heard faint banging on the other side of the pulsing wall behind her. From the other side, Nate was slashing away at the wall with his fire claws. Bits of the walls were stripping away after each visceral and messy strike. However, the impact his assault was pitiful, almost comparable to a cat clawing on a steel wall. “Step aside.” The Electivire pushed Nate and reached for the sword on his back. Once he did, he held it up high and charged it up with electricity. The blade turned orange from the heat. After the air around the weapons reached a critical point in temperature, the Electivire struck the wall with all his might, produced and eardrum-bursting thunder and a cloud of smoke. The gray cloud quickly deteriorated, revealing a huge chunk of the wall lost and replaced with char. The pulsing wall may remain standing, but it appeared hurt. The sewage water like blood quickly rushed toward the missing part. Fortunately, it just helped cool down the wound and not doing any crazy like patching itself. The Electivire looked back at the rest of the agents. “If I can’t punch through, then none of us can,” he said in a raspy tone.

Doc stepped up and inspecting the damaged wall. “Yes, but only for now. The wall is not regenerating itself, which means we can still take it down. Slowly but surely, we can.” Doc’s comm device then rang.

As he picked it up, Catherine’s voice came through. “Hello, Doc, can you read me?”

“Oh, good, you are awake. Yes, I can read you, obviously. Unless there is a disconnection between us that make me read you, but you can’t do the same, which renders this part of my conversation pointless, very much like the Arcadian’s government or their electoral system.”

“Eh, no, I can hear you, just fine.”

“Good’ he sighed. “I really need to work on my comedy banter after this.”

“Yeah, you do whatever the fuck you want, I don’t care. Anyway, I just want to know. Where the fuck are we?”

“Well, as far as we can tell, eh, you might want to sit down for a moment.” Doc pointed his index finger to the wall. “The reports that I got is, certainly absurd,” Doc said while walking away from the wall. The Electivire signaled other Pokémon to come to the wall with him and start slamming the wall open.

Catherine’s voice came through after a quick pause “Yup, I’m ready. Fire away.”

“E-hem, apparently, the asylum, along with the ground, raw sewage surrounding and under it transformed into a giant Ekans.  I guess the King had put all those plates into good use. See the round structure and the pulsating structure everywhere? That is a clear metaphor for where we are right now.”

“Okay, that explained the slimy walls and tubes.” She started walking around. “Have the outside done anything?”

“They did and still, doing something. The blasting of cannons managed to the slow this thing down. Or at least, that is what I think they were doing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Before we announced our “present”, the base told all the aircraft to halt all attacks and let this thing be Agni’s problem. Nevertheless, after we told them that we are here, they, well, hard to say that in this source of situations. Judging from the wall that stands between us, Genesis’s cannon should be able to do more than just, slowing this thing down. But it is all speculation; I have not seen anything yet.”

Catherine put her hand on her chin. “Hum, you think that they might have abandoned us?”

“Maybe, but, we never know. They said the thing is self-repairing from the outside. Maybe that is the case. Maybe the inside is this thing’s weak point. Regardless, we told them that we might be able to stop the King from the inside, so let’s hope that they count on that and not leave us behind.”

“Seem a bit slim to me.”

“Sure. Everyone here already knows that. Let’s change the subject while the burly agents figure out how to get this wall open.”

The yell of Boomer crashed its way in Catherine and Doc conversation “Oh shit! It’s everywhere, literally!” A slapping sound and “Man the hell up” soon followed.

Catherine continued. “Eh, yeah, I have an idea of how that’s turning out for you.”

“Ignore that, so, who else is there with you?”

“Not much, just me, Rick and this Weavile.”

“Oh yes, Noira, good. Have you seen Axel there?”

There was a pause. To Catherine, it was a quick three seconds to look around, but to Doc, it was drawn out much longer. “No.” she answered

“Oh, then that is bad. We had not seen him anywhere.”

“Have you tried contacting him?”

“Yes, but apparently something is wrong with his comm device.”

“Shit. What about your end, did anyone else die?”

“Fortunately, not yet. A few were heavily injured during the sudden collision. And, if you count Axel.”

“He is just missing, I’m sure of it.”

“Hope so.”

“Okay, so, what do we do now? How do we, get out.”

“Well, the plan is simple. We go straight through the belly of the beast and kill the King, then we worry about getting out.”

Catherine had to pause. “Eh, that is not.”

“If you worry about not strong enough to kill him, hear me out. As soon as we get this wall down, we will join you. Full force, maximum firepower. Not that I afraid or anything, but our odds of success are higher if we working together.”

Tammy’s voice butted in. “We? We have not agreed on anything, you just assume control and.”

Doc looked over his shoulder. “Miss Condi, do you have a better plan? We are trapped, armed to the teeth and extremely dangerous, what else do we do? Walking around and look pretty? We are here to destroy the King and we are going to do just that.” He then returned to Catherine. “Sorry about that Catherine, so that is the plan we have so far. From our trustworthy information sources, we know that we have cut his absorption time short and the Plates are in separated chambers littered across this creature, far away from the King.”

Knowing that Doc would oppose anything that involved, escape first, Catherine asked. “That is all well and good, but what does it tell us?”

“He putting a strain on keeping this colossus mass together with the power he is yet familiar. The King is at his weakest now and this beast is at its weakest here.”

Catherine began to see some possibility. “Oh, that’s good. If that is the case, we will wait for you guys then.”

The Weavile Noira said. “No.”

Rick said. “Eh, what?”

“Catherine just cut the communication off and listen.”

“Sorry Doc, just hold for a moment.”

Noira continued. “We need to get rid of this thing as soon as possible. We are wasting time standing here. This wall is extremely thick. It would take them a while to burst through. A minute wasted, and the distance between this thing and Igni shorten.

“Call you back later.” Catherine cut off the line and faced Noira. Before she could say anything, Rick commented. “I think it better if we stay behind for reinforcement.”

Catherine added. “Yeah, we do it quick, but die quicker wouldn’t help. I say we wait and make a sure shot. I faced this guy twice, the outcomes didn’t look nice.”

Before they could conclude their discussion, the King’s voice echoed through the creature. “Oh, you are finally here. Welcome to my domain.” The trio turned away from each other and checked the darkness in the distance, all with their weapon held high. “Oh, and you brought company. Lovely, more witnesses. Minions, it is time, to show some hospitality.”

From the dark entered three Pokémon. They were the Zoaroak in thin jet-black armor with sharp edges; the Machamp with the speaker now came in full plate and a helmet; and the Sneasel jester, still wearing the same colorful attire. The Zoaroak emitted a cloud of black mist from his right hand. With a snap of his fingers, the hilt of blade emerged from the mist. Over time, a short sword with swirling blade came out. The Zoaroak then held the sword and pointed the tip toward Catherine’s general direction. “Any last words?” The Zoaroak asked with a grin.

The Sneasel jester said with a sigh, “I wish I have a bigger role; in the grand scheme and all.”

The Zoaroak turned to him. “What do you mean?”

The Sneasel continued. “Can’t you see? We are going to die here. The scene is setting. Our act is over. We are no longer of use to this act and to him.”

The Zoaroak held out a mega stone covered in strange transparent slime. “But we have this, power.”

“Yes, and the King has much more power than that. Why doesn’t he fight them, then?” The Sneasel strolled forward. “What makes you think we are more powerful than them? You are just a homeless mutant; he’s a guy that load boxes and cargos to train; and I just a fool, a comedian in the world where the punch line is a punch to my nuts rather than a piece of social commentary.”

The voice of the King echoed in the beast. “What are you implying, jester? Is this, betrayal?”

The Sneasel’s head held up and screamed out. “My name is Horace, you bastard! And I shall not die your puppet. I refuse to end my life on a false stage, reek of bloodshed and hollow words. The joke here is you. You are no king, and I am still in control of my life!” Horace took out a worn dagger from his pocket and raised it so that Catherine, Noira, and Rick could see. “You three, I don’t know who pull your strings, but good luck, you’ll need it.” He then proceeded to stab himself in the heart. Catherine felt a tingling feeling down her back as the worn blade struggled to pierce the flesh and bypassed the ribcage. The Pokémon let out some death gargle before while using his last bit of strength to stand on his two legs. His mouth twisted into a smile, the moments his eyes saw something. Without warning, Horace fell down. He lied there motionless. His life might have gone, but his grip on the blade was still there.

The Zoaroak and the Machamp stood still, witnessing as Catherine slowly walked toward Horace’s body. She kneeled down and reached her right hand for his face. She gently closed his eyes and reached for the blade in his hand. Her hand grabbed the dagger then she whispered “Lost Soul of the world. Your body may rot, but your spirit through this memento” She took the dagger and deconstructed it “will find peaceful earth. May you find guidance in the Beyond.”

She then stood up and looked at the bandits. “It is not too late for you two, to find rest.” The two bandits simultaneously activated the mega stones. Both were then engulfed in great balls of radiance, only to turn them into hideous mutations. The Zoaroak’s body, upon exiting the light was shaking and twitching. His head crooked a little and a painful grin took the whole of his face. From the gaps in his armor leaked his black mist. The mist, this time, took shape of claws and gnawing jaws. Listen carefully and you can hear these jaws, breathing. The Machamp’s transformation was milder. His muscles only grow to an extent that it nearly burst out of his armor. He let out a painful grunt as blood splatted out of his helmet. However, that grunt turned to a battle cry in a smooth second. The two bandit knights then advanced.

Before Rick could fire the first shot, the Zoaroak turned to his mist form lunged toward the fire type. The mist dragged him toward a grimy wall and slammed Rick into the filth-covered metal surface, hard. His back was struck with a burning sensation then numbness plagued his body at a rapid rate. The Zoaroak let Rick’s body fall to the floor and formed a black curve sword from his illusionary mist. He then sharpened his two blades by slashing them together. The impact, though produced the sound of real metal, did not make any spark. The Zoaroak materialized, took a few steps back, seemingly winding up for a grand execution. Rick tried to aim his gun, but the position of his body would not allow so. The dark type pounced.

A dark hand made of aura bone grabbed the Zoaroak by the head and flung the Pokémon to the other side. The dark type turned back into the mist, prevented him from crashing. As soon as he regained his footing, everything got quiet all the sudden. Catherine’s aura hands were still clutching on to the Machamp’s upper set of arms, while her head turned back to see Noira. Both of her arms were covered in a dark aura (similar to Catherine’s). The aura stretched, giving the illusion of her hands being elastic. Without a word, Noira dashed toward the Zoaroak. Her aura hands grasped into fists and started pummeled the black mist. The attacks were fluid and fast, but they did not do a thing to the Zoaroak. After the aura hands finished with their barrage of punches, the Zoaroak found and open. He materialized his hands and weapons then started thrusting them in that opening-Noira rib cage. Noira grunted as the blade touched her rib cage. However, the sword could never break through her bone. Each thrust vibrated his blade, making his grip on the weapon weaker and his strikes slower. Noira quickly blew a gust of Icy wind from her mouth. The ultra-chilled air froze some of the Zoaroak’s cloud body. The Zoaroak gritted his teeth as the cold cut into his very being. She retracted her aura hands and (faster than a normal eye can track) delivered an onslaught of aura infused punched to the frozen bits. The ice made the Zoaroak’s body tangible enough to receive punishment from her aura-infused fists. He screamed in agony as chunks of himself were smashed. As his brain was overloaded with pain, he was no longer able to maintain his mist form. As a result, Noira, using her aura, grabbed and slammed him to the ground in his physical form, nearly broke his back. Her other aura arm impaled the ground and started spreading. Before he knew it, dozens of small aura hand crept up from the ground and pinned him down. Some of these hands grabbed his miniature jaws and twisted them, breaking the teeth. He desperately tried to escape in his mist form, but the hands cupped the mist and maintained the restraint. After numerous attempted, his body gave in and stuck at his physical form. The hands then moved around his body. Noira closed her eyes and commanded the hands to grab bits of him and slowly, yet forcefully pull him apart. The sound these hands made resonated with his cry of agony.

His screamed echoed in accord with the clash of Catherine’s psychic blades on the Machamp’s wrist plates. The fighting type managed to trap her in a lock. His upper arms endured some pain and grabbed the purple blades tights. All while the lower arm overpowered Catherine’s own arms. Before she could maneuver her way out, he activated his chess speaker. The sound blasted her yards away. Her body was sliding on the grimy floor, drawing a shallow ditch. With her ears still ringing, she concentrated her mind and teleported away from a ground pound. He looked around, searching for her. Afraid that she would strike from behind, he immediately turned 180 degrees and slammed his upper fists down. The strike caught nothing but the sludge on the floor. He did not know how to respond to what happened next. His feet could touch to the ground no longer. In seconds, his head slammed to one of the light on the ceiling. The hot broken glass fell into his helmet, burned into his bloated flesh. His feet, in a blink of an eye, smashed to the ground. He let out a shriek, as both his legs shatter from the amplified gravity. He fell down on his knees and started crawling toward Catherine. She let out a smirk as she took a few steps back. Catherine sprinted and dropkicked him in the face. He tried to swat her, but her speed was much greater than his was, she evaded with a back flip. She dashed forward and hit him across the jaw with her aura hand, staggered him. This opened him up for the attack. Her left aura hand expanded in size fully grabbed him and pinned the Pokémon to the wall. Her normal hands conjured up a thick and sharp psychic stake. With one decisive push of her palms, she launched the stake straight to the speaker part of his chest. The sheer size of the stake along with Catherine’s force was more than enough to punch through the armor and impaled the Pokémon. Afterward, she let him there, nailed to the blacken wall. 

Catherine was panting and expecting to hear something from the King. Something in the line of _“Hahahaha, oh, I do enjoy the opening show. Come, the main event is still waiting.”_ But alas, she had none. The King was silent and the only sound she heard was the strange hum from the outside.

Noira walked passed her and urged. “Catherine, let’s go.”

“Yeah, sure,” Said Catherine as she dusted herself.

Rick stood up, his face wrinkled with pain. “Wait, don’t you want to wait for reinforcement?”

Catherine answered. “You heard it. The King knows we are here, staying means being sitting targets. Let just give him the beating that he wanted, and make him regret it.”

Rick made a face while holding onto his back. “Argh, I don’t think I can continue. I think it’s time for me to augment my backbone when I’m back home.”

Catherine said “It’s okay, you can stay and trying to get the wall open with the others. The sooner we get that done, the better.”

He said. “Oh, I see, with that comes with reinforcement as well.” Rick looked back at the pulsing wall. “Sure, that works for me,” Rick said before he summoned his drill. “Good luck, to the both of you.”

Catherine said “Try your best not to break anything else, okay? I’m not carrying you out of this hell hole.”

Rick said. “I can walk on my own, thank you very much. Just promise to trade a few rounds with the gangs afterward.”

Catherine “Trust me, after this, we’ll raise the roof of Gwen’s bar, all the way to the moon.”

“Ha, looking forward to that.”

Noira turned back and said. “Catherine!”

Catherine ran toward Noira and said. “I know, I know, I’m coming.”

Rick said. “Noira, watch Catherine’s back for me.”

Both Catherine and Noira looked at each other and nodded in unison. Afterward, they advanced into the darkness beyond the belly of the monster. Catherine teleported while Noira dashed. Despite the different traveling method, both were never far apart from each other. The lights inside the beast lit up at every bit of progress that they made. They ran past the tubes, pools of sewage and crushed body, finally, approached a large metal gate.

Catherine stopped and began to take off the rings from her boots. She then performed the ritual from Sanctuary and summoned her psychic great sword. Noira did not do anything besides looking at her in silent. Her eyes widen as the blade was forged in a short moment. Catherine then heard the malevolent voice. _“Considering the adversary, would you consider taking it?”_

She whispered. _“We will see about that.”_

Catherine stabbed the sword to the ground and held her left hand up. “Corruption!” She yelled and allowed the dark aura to emit from her sleeve and consumed her left arm. The effect transformed her arm to something similar to Noira’s. However, the aura, this time, went a little further. The aura hardened and turned to ragged rock-like armor. At the end of her fingertips turned to claw. Her hair grew longer as her heart began to beat faster. The aura moved from her shoulder to her right arm, but the glow from her great sword stopped it and prompted a burning pain in her arm. The voice screamed out as well, forcing her to stop the corruption. Catherine obliged. Despite her right arm was not infected with the aura; she could still feel a surge of power coursed through her vein. That power was enough to allow her to lift the great word with one hand. With the blade rested on her shoulder, Catherine touched the gate. she was about to punch it opened, but the gate made way based on its own volition.

Behind it was something Catherine expected to see and did not expect to see. It was, of course, the King. However, his appearance was a little different. He was in a gigantic crystal ball that hovered above the large hole that took most space of this room. The Plates were nowhere to be found in this chamber, but strings of light could be seen, sprouted from the cracks in this broken place and connected to the ball. On the King’s back were the Mind plate and a pair of wings made of light. The shape of these wings was similar to the Angelic guard sigil on Catherine’s coat. The King gave Catherine a solemn look then said. “You came for bloodshed, here I am, come and get.” He said before materializing two psychic rapiers.

(The song Leviathan by NeLiME began to play)

Catherine teleported straight to him in short bursts. Once close enough, she jumped off the floor and reached for the ball. She then clung to the crystal surface with her dark hand and immediately slammed the great sword on to it. The impact cracked the ball and forced the King to take a fighting stance.

With a snap of his fingers, the ball emitted a force that pushed Catherine away from it. Catherine shut her eyes for a moment, experiencing an intense ringing in her head. She then fell down the hole. The ball flew away from the center hole, heading all the way to the corner of the room. Noira, having anticipated this prior to Catherine’s assault, already positioned herself there and prepared to attack. Noira extended her aura-infused arm and grabbed onto the dent. The ice type propelled herself forward by generating an icy gale under her feet. Noira flew toward the ball and broke it with her other arm in a forceful strike. The ball shattered, making the strings of light attached to it snapped and instantly reached for the King’s wings. The King emitting a powerful force around him; destroyed Noira’s attempt of a deathblow with her aura arm. Lucky for Noira, she landed, though roughly, on the floor.

Catherine’s hand reached out from below the moment the King flung the broken pieces toward Noira. The Weavile retracted her aura arms. With a firm grip of her claw, the aura gathered and hardened into stone. The broken pieces turned to dust as they smashed on the rock hard surface of her aura. The King, unfazed by this simply sprinted toward Noira. The King then spun with his blade, turning himself into a small tornado. Noira was hunkering down and continuing to block the oncoming attack.

Catherine would not allow that, however. The psychic type teleported alongside the hole and headed toward the King. Once Noira’s hands were getting tired, Catherine slammed the sword down. The hit caused a small fissure to form on the concoction that was the floor. The blow shook the floor just enough to interrupted the King. He lost his footing and tumbled on the floor. Noira dropped her guard and tried using her claws to crash onto him. The King teleported away then hovered above the hole. He raised his hand, forced a platform that was slightly smaller than the hole to rise up. The panel itself covered in dirt mixed with a questionable amount of skeletons.

The King stood on the panel and taunted the two agents. Noira and Catherine quickly recovered and jumped on the platform. The King put his right hand above his head, summoning dozens of pink long swords suspended in the air. He launched the blades toward the two of them. Catherine picked up Cain’s saw-off shotgun and started pumping dark aura orbs out. The King just nonchalantly dodged them, while his blade just phased through them. Catherine, too focused on firing toward him, paid little mind to the barrage of swords.

Soon enough, one of the blades struck Catherine’s left shoulder, slightly under her joints and collar bone. Catherine kneeled down. Her body was shaking as pain mixed into her blood. Noira was not faltered, instead, taking the King interest in Catherine as a way to advance. She just had to dodge two blades. Once close enough, Noira’s aura hand expanded and threw themselves toward the King. He jumped over one and disappeared in a teleport to evade the other. Noira quickly retracted her arm, a second later a sharp pain cut into her face. The King and his rapiers were right beside her. Noira’s arms were still too far to help her. As the King was about to slam the blade down for a decapitation, “Ally Switch”.

Catherine’s great sword took the blow in a loud clank. The blade he had launched was still dug deep in her. However, that did not stop her from surprised him with a feral swipe from her left hand. His inner psychic barrier blocked the strike. Catherine did not care and try to dig her claw in even deeper. The King kicked her in the face, knocked Catherine away. Her hair did not hear anything else afterward, but her mouth did taste strong sense of iron. The King pointed his finger forward, making the sword drag Catherine all the way across the platform. The blade then pinned her to the wall with a thunderous sound. Catherine let out a painful yell as blood gushed out.

While Catherine trying to yank the sword out, Noira let out a growled then get on all four. She let out a snarl while showing her saliva-dyed fang. Noira then pounced forward like a feral animal, hungry for flesh. Noira channeled more of her aura out, to the point that it nearly engulfed her. The dark aura wrapped over her uniform, making her more and more feral-like.The aura healed her wounds instantly and made her muscles significantly stronger. She growled like a beast with bloodlust in her eyes. The King summoned more blades.

“Noira, wait,” Catherine said while trying to pull the blade out. With a determined grunt, she grabbed on to the hilt and ripped it out. She crashed onto the cold slimy floor while Noira ran like mad toward the King. He launched a few blades toward Noira. The dark type wished to maintain her forward momentum and just simply dashed toward the blades. Two of them pinned onto her arm and chest, but Noira kept on charging forward as if she could no longer feel pain. The King took a stance and imbued his left blade with a bright pink glow, similar to that of Fairy type aura, and made a taunting gesture with his blades. He pierced his sight toward Noira, searching for an exploitable opening.

Noira jumped, claws stuck out like giant switchblades. The King just calmly dashed forward and stabbed the imbued blade in Noira’s stomach. The blade burned her inside the moment it came in contact. He then lifted the blade up, seemingly presenting the impaled Noira to someone. Noira, was still in her feral state, constantly swiping her claws, trying to swat the King’s head. He then slammed her to the ground, forcing her to stop. She did not, after the first impact. He stepped on her and stabbed his other page into her abdomen. He lifted his left blade and constantly stabbing her. Blows, after blows, Noira’s aura became weaker and her aura turned thinner. Just like that, after a moment, she stopped moving.

He then freed his blade and tossed Noira toward the closed gate like a rag doll. Noira’s body made a clear thud as she slammed to the metal gate. She lied on the floor, while her inner voice desperately trying to fix the wounds.

“Noira!” Catherine yelled with her hand grabbed on the great sword. She dragged the sword before leaping back onto the platform. “You son of a bitch!” Catherine said and charged forward. He shot a few blades toward her. This time, Catherine used her great sword as a shield and blocked all the blades.

The King’s eyes were gleaming with concern. “Well, how would like me to handle this? Slow, painful, or quick and painful?” Catherine slammed the sword down and continued her attack. “Hum, you picked slow. I will oblige.”

He teleported a few inches beside Catherine, all while her great sword was still pinned to the ground. He thrust his left blade toward her. She immediately grabbed it with her right hand. She grinned once saw the King’s expression shifted slightly. She tried to snap the blade but refused to break. The King quickly slashed her cheek with his other rapier. She released his blade. Not out of pain, but rather for her to grab on her sword with both hands. The opportunity of the King being this close would never happen again, and she wasted it. Once her left hand touched the hilt, intense burning occurred from within her palm. This pain made her hesitate for split second. As a result, the sword failed to cut the King open. He teleported away when the sword winded half-way. “Fuck, I’m too slow.” She thought.

The King slid across the platform with blinding speed, both of his blades prepped up for an attack. Catherine quickly summoned a thin, tube-like grenade. She pulled the pin with her teeth and dropped it onto the floor. A thick cloud of white smoke shot out, concealing her body.

The King stopped his attack. “A smoke bomb, really?” The King said, slightly amused. “You want to play? Sorry, but I’m not in the mood.” He emitted his force forward, blew away all the smoke.

In front of him was nothing but the empty platform. “What? Where did she?” He frantically looked around, expecting a hit from the flank. After a few seconds, he could not find her. And that was when a shadow started to lay on him. Catherine shut off the gravity on her soles, the very thing that kept her glued to the ceiling. The weight of the weapon pulled her down at ever increasing velocity. The King looked up a little too late. The image of the blade bearing down on him was just paralyzing. He could not focus his thought for a teleport. He panicked and could only move back slightly and block the attack.

Their blades meet and her great sword completely shattered the King’s left rapier. The leftover shockwave managed to break the inner barrier. The King regained some of his concentration and reinforced his body with a psychic glow. With this, he pushed her away. Catherine pretended to be affected by this and pulled her sword back, only to return with another slash. The King dropped his broken blade and used to hands to block Catherine’s hit. After the decisive strike from Catherine, the two blades came to a standstill; both pressing against each other. “How the hell does THIS flimsy blade stands against my great sword?”Catherine thought.

The King gritted his teeth while trying to make an awkward smile. “Tell me, Catherine, what are you fighting for?” Catherine did not answer; she instead used both of her hands to put more pressure on her blade. Despite the hot iron, pain comes from the moment her other hand touched the sword; she maintained the pressure with a grit of her teeth. “It took the death of my jester to realize how astray we all are.”

“Have you tried going to hell. That ought to solve it.” 

“It appears so, but, it’s not that easy.”  The King could feel the pressure lessen after each second. He looked at the blades, seeing how his was getting lower and lower toward Catherine’s left shoulder. He also noticed the density of Catherine’s aura was waning away. “Your strength, is fading my dear, any second thought?”

“No,” She said as she made her own blade disappeared. Catherine cracked a smile as the King’s momentum forced him and his blade to fall forward. The King’s rapier dug into Catherine’s left shoulder, slicing into the joint and locked the blade in place. The jolt of pain forced Catherine spat a cheek-full of blood and saliva toward the King’s eyes. The fluid stung his eyes, forcing them to shut.

(Song ends)

Catherine using her last bit of strength slammed her right palm to the King’s temple. The blow was just enough to break his focus on maintaining the blade. The psychic blade disappeared, dropping Catherine down on her weaken knees. Catherine clawed her hand on to the King’s head, used her weight to pull him onto his knees. Her shoulder was far worse from dislocated, the King’s blade was momentarily wedged between them after all. Nevertheless, the aura managed to stick her arm together and pinned it in place. The King tried to yank her hand out with his other hand, but Catherine, used her left-aura-infused hand to stop the attempt; she grabbed on to his wrist and squeezed it hard; at least as hard as she could muster with a blade in her shoulder. The king stared her left arm, “Mindlock”. He still had enough power to cut Catherine’s connection with the voice and successfully terminated her aura. Still, that did not stop Catherine from continue squeezing his crooked arm. The King screamed in her face, nearly burst her eardrums. Her glowing fingers dug into the King’s skin on his dome. She whispered. “Show me your pain. And, see whose is bigger.”  She chanted the memory split incantation.

The King could not do much else but scream and open his eyes wide as the memory of Catherine’s injuries settling in. The years she spent training until all her knuckles are shattered; the time a group of bandit flayed her natural white dress; the time she was impaled, bitten, violated, burned, maimed and all source of damage imaginable were flooding his mind. Even the times when the King, himself tortured her. He felt them all, fully and vividly.

Catherine, one the other hand, started with the image of him, bursting from a glass chamber. He was terrified. She could felt it through his rapidly beating heart and the short gasp for air. Afterward, she saw visions of Markov putting something on the King’s head. What happened afterward was a complete blur to her. She could not see or experience anything. As if what happened next, was not the King’s doing. As if the King’s brain was numb and memories that did not belong to his were pumped in. She could not understand what was going on. Everything was just blurs and incoherent gargle of audio. It went on for eternity, until, the King, in his voice, said _“No”._ After that, the train of memory sped up. Yet, the images and sound were becoming clearer until it stopped altogether at one point: The King standing on the edge of a cliff.

He looked at him and saw a much younger Markov with a smirk. A smirk that Catherine could not imagine coming from Doc’s brother. Someone who was praised as being kind and thoughtful by Doc. Markov was holding a blue crystal rapier; the tip was dipped in blood. Markov stepped forward. Catherine was surprised to hear his real voice, which was eerie similar to the King’s. _“Well, just look at you, all grown up, huh? You think you can betray me?”_

_“No, father I.”_

_“Don’t call me that!”_ Markov drew the blade forward, stabbing the King in his shoulder. The King screamed while Catherine experienced a deep string burrowed into her shoulder blade. Markov withdrew the blade continued with a small maniac’s grin. _“Heh, how disappointing. My creation failed me. No, worst, it forsakes the gift of life, that I gave it, and stab me in the back, like an ungrateful Ignian. And for what?”_

Catherine saw the King lifting his hand up, a futile attempt to block future attacks. _“Dr. Voynich, I, I can, I can fix it. I made a mistake. Yes, a mistake, I can fix it. Please, give me a chance.”_

Markov shook his head, slowly. _“No, no, no, no, the mistake is all mines. Thanks to you, I now have a new understanding. It is true, then. There is only room for one, Markov in this world. I will find another, a method to achieve, my immortality, my legacy.”_ Markov lowered the rapier and approached the King with his other arm opened. Markov put his hand on the King’s shoulder, gently. _“Well, now, allow me to end, your suffering, your meaningless existence.”_ Catherine could not see much else besides Markov thrusting his other hand upward, stabbing the rapier into the King’s abdomen. He whispered in the King’s ear. _“A creation that failed its purpose does not exist, useless.”_ Given the King no chance to gurgle, Markov withdrew the blade then gently pushed his clone-self off the cliff. Catherine felt the salty ocean air touched her hair as the King in the past fell to his doom. The memory once again was distorted. In the midst of jumpy and statics and scratched images, there was a shadow, a faceless figure. It said. _“Mine, oh, mine, what do we have here? A lost soul? Down on your luck, huh? Let me offer you, a way out.”_  

That moment, the pain in Catherine left arm forced her to collapse, resulted in a sudden disconnection. The King was still screaming from Catherine memory, not realizing that the stream of recreated pain had stopped. However, once he did, he looked down at Catherine, bewildered. He had seen her life and it was not that different from his. His voice was trembling and shaky. “You, I was, wrong about you. We are, the same, we can still.” He whispered. Catherine blinked and could not see the King quickly grabbed her hand and put it back to the side of his head. His hand touched Catherine’s temple. It glowed bright purple and injected a white flash to Catherine’s head.

Catherine was now in an empty white void, quite similar to the combat simulation back at Genesis. The only different here was that Catherine did not feel the disconnection between the image of her body and her feelings. She truly felt like she was in another place. The changes were so rapid that she almost forgot about the pain in her system.

“We have taken this all wrong.” The King’s voice touched Catherine’s back.

Catherine turned around, seeing the King calmly strolled toward her with opened arms. He was wearing actual royal attire with gold and the finest of silk. Catherine wrinkled her face in disgust and spat: “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I’ve seen your world, inside your head. Seeing how you and I suffer the same, almost. I couldn’t think of killing you. Instead, I wish to talk to you, straight forward. In this room of mind, we are free from the chains of the outside, and our ideas, are free.”

“Ha ha, fuck no.” She closed her eyes and focused her thought on getting out. A moment of silence, then she opened her eyes. She expected to see the King and the real world in front of her once they opened. She was half-right about that. She opened her eyes and saw the King sitting on a throne, still surrounded by the white empty void. He sat in a laid-back manner, with his palm support his head.

The King cracked a smile and said. “The face when you concentrate is the thing of comedy.”

Catherine gave him a sideway look. “I was about to throw a comeback, but you are not worth wasting my dignity.”

“Understandable, please, take a seat.” The King pointed to her left.

Catherine immediately trailed her eyes along and saw a throne in place. It was the same size as the King’s throne and decorated with thin blue veils. “What the fuck is the meaning of this? Just because you think we suffer the same thing that we can just sit here all buddy-buddy?” She shook her head. “What do you take me for? You killed countless of Pokémon, enslaved them, mutated them, and you tortured me and my friends.”

“Are they truly your friend?”

Catherine had a second thought “Okay, my acquaintances and one of my friends. But that doesn’t change the fact that you are a bastard.”

The King nodded. “I know, I know. I’m aware of what I have done, but, let’s talk this time. Let’s not fight for a moment, let not threaten ourselves, but instead, talk and listen.”

Catherine touched the fabric, noticed how soft and smooth it was. She proceeded to sit down and locked her hands behind the back of her head.

“Comfortable? Much better than, clinging to every bit of pain, right?”

“No shit.” She smiled. “Go ahead, do your thing, talk. I have nothing to give you besides _“Fuck off and let me go.”_ ”

“I see, thank you for listening.” He snapped his fingers, causing two end tables with drinks to materialize; one beside Catherine and one beside him. “It is hard to be born in this world huh? Brought to life, just to be shunned, abandoned and suffer.”

Catherine took a sip of her drink, the red liquid burned into her throat. She glared at him, trying to see his angle on the matter. “With the world as screwed up as ours, no one asked to be born here.”

“Yes, but the two of us, are different. We were born as freaks, for no other purpose but to be exploited. Your Councils” Catherine felt some muscle in her body tighten when those two syllables were utter: _“Council”_. The King went on “they imprisoned, brainwashed, and tortured a young, beautiful and hopeful young woman. Then after she had served them well and good, they corrupted her to create you.” Catherine closed her eyes, fighting back a stinging salty drop to escape her eye. Her hand increased the pressure on the glass. The liquid content within the glass started shaking. The King stopped his smile, instead looking at the ripples of his drink. “Should I give you a moment? You seem to be.”

“I’m fine, get your shit over with!” She said through the gap between her teeth.

“Sure, they did so, just for power, a firmer grip on well, a world that refuses to accept their philosophy.” He took a sip. “Yet, your mother, she refused to let them, take away her free will. She exerted her strength, over their evil, by giving you, love. It is up most, commendable, the spirit of a mother. In that regard, I felt, to be honest, jealous of you. He created me, just so he can live with the knowledge of having a legacy, being immortal, gaining power over death. And that is all, no compassion, nothing.”

“Markov.” Catherine wished to shake her head in disbelief, but the experience in someone’s head had never lied before. For that brief, moment, she felt something, a connection, though small, weak, and faint but a connection nonetheless; and that sicken her. She, Catherine, was feeling some manner of compassion for this twisted creature that decorated his home with carcasses of slaves and the hopeless. Still, in that short moment, she saw more of this Alakazam. He was more than a savage with power; he was a wrapped reflection of her. Both were lost and trying to find a way out. However, one had obviously sunk deeper in sin compare to the other.

“Yes, him. I realized his scheme a little too late, or too soon. I rebelled, but blindly, without sight, without seeing myself becoming him. I just want to take back some control. You through your eyes, you reminded me of how stray I am.”

Catherine pointed forward. “Stop right there, you and I are nothing alike. Stop using me as your reference point.”

The King, un-flinched by her remark, continued. “You want to control as well, yes. A guiding light lit up by the torch you created.”

“Fine, take it that way, but look at us now, it’s no longer matter; it is too late. You have wronged this world too much to justify or do anything. If you expect me to give you sympathy and let you go then you are dead wrong.”

“It’s not. I know I cannot undo all the madness I have done.” The King put his drink on the table. “Everything I have done was senseless.” He looked down at his attire. “This entire disguise, it bears no weight, I bear no authority or control. I just play his game and become his legacy in the end. Look at my so call, Kingdom. It is filled with blood and body of the damned; it is no different from his desires.” He covered his face with his palm. “All the lives that I have taken away, I couldn’t see their suffering. It is indeed too late to undo anything.” The King then stood up, prompting Catherine to do the same. She, however, got in a fighting stance. “Now, I see it, now I know what to do. I will disband the Bandits Kingdom. I will find a place for these, bandits. I will help them created their own home, and I shall give them options, instead of playing by the rule of this messed up world. I’ll give them something other than being bandits.”

“That is nice and all. But what about you? I believe your past, I believe your, um, words. Nevertheless, what are the reasons for me to put fate in that vision of yours? All of us have the vision of controls the options, control the situation, but no one has done it. Wishing to chance things for the better, won’t undone the wrong. You did mind controlled my teammate and planted a bomb in his head. He beats me up pretty good, so I am still salty about it. And remember, all the agents, myself includes are here, for your head. We don’t know about your intention or anything.”

The King smiled faintly. “Yes, glad that we are on the same page. Nevertheless, we have to try. As for me, I shall turn myself in. I know I can’t pay for my crime, but that is the least I can do.”

“Oh, sure, if you say so. But, that is no easy task, especially in the grand scheme of thing. Genesis deems you a threat, and we are here to crush it.”

“Yes, but who give them, the right to do so. And I know, you about to say, common sense dictate that I should be stopped. Axel and everyone else, are firsthand experiences. Again, no objection there, but admit it, Catherine, since when life is that straight forward? Since when we could do”

Catherine held her palm. “Just stop. Okay. There are no excuses for your action. I accept it. Now move on.”

“Yes. So please, just let me, mend something first.”

Catherine sighed. “Okay, sure. Then the question still stands. How, how can you do so? Because once we exit this chamber of the mind, there is no telling of what happens next. I will have to hunt you.”

“True but you don’t have to.” Catherine was about to say something, but she went quiet and listen. The King continued. “This beast was a rush, maddening attempt, a quick and messy way to stop him. But since you are here, it’s no longer needed. I can focus on what matter.”

“Go on.”

Yes. I will give my redemption before I receive judgment. I will give you back all the Plate. You can tell them that you killed me, for now. And after everything is said and done, I will die under your blade or gun.”

“Hum, don’t think I have to authority to give you judgment, but fair enough.” She paused and pondered. I think I’m sensing a “but” here.”

“Not a “but” but a request. If you are unsure about yourself, you can turn me into Genesis, only when he is dead.” The King took all his courage to make the next sentence. “Could you help me kill Markov, Catherine? He must be stopped. Only then, I could receive my judgment, knowing that things like me will never be created, ever again.”

A thunder went up in Catherine’s head. She said. “No, absolutely not. I’m not your hired blade.”

“But, Catherine. He is the source of my madness. Only time will tell what kind of abomination he could create.”

“I don’t care.” She spat at him and proceeded to advance. Catherine then grabbed the King by the collar and lifted him up. “So all this talk huh? Just a way to use me isn’t it?”

The King showed panic in his eyes. “No, you have mistaken, I never would.”

“Then what the fuck does it look like? How am I supposed to take this, huh?”

“The King calmed down and said. “Oh, I now see. Indeed, it is not the kind of decision that could be made casually. Would you please, let me down?” Catherine did so, but slowly. “Thank you, and I must apologize. Almost make another mistake there.”

Catherine reclaimed her composure and nodded; her face was stern. “I think it is better for things to cool down first before doing anything else.”

“Yes, indeed, we need more time for this kind of decision. But, it is hard to keep in contact, considering the mess, we are in right now.”

“That can easily be solved.” Catherine stuck out her hand. “Just make a mind link with me then we can telepathically communicate, even miles away. Don’t be scared, us Celestians have done this for centuries. There is a catch, though. Once the mind link is established, all of my knowledge, as well as your will, belong to both of us.”

The King smiled at the thought. “Oh, I have no objection to such requirement. If anything, I welcome it. It makes the deal, we about to make, the more powerful and, it will clear both our mind of doubt. Besides, I have already seen a large portion of your, life. Let’s do it, all the technique I have learned, all the knowledge from the Plate will be yours.” With a faint smile, the King took Catherine’s hand. ”Friend.”

Catherine glared at him. “Don’t push your luck. This proves, nothing.” With a smile of her own, she gripped his hand tight and began chanting her memory share incantation. This time, in the end, she added a few verses. Catherine closed her eyes and let their hands glow as the knowledge began to flow.

Halfway through, after witnessing a different part from Catherine, a gentler and more vulnerable part, the King said: “Gracious, you are something else. It will be a secret, between us.”

“Just shut the fuck up, will you? I need to concentrate.”

“Oh. That, I will oblige.”

The empty white room surrounded them suddenly cracked. A dark red light started to dripping in from the gap. Their connection stopped. “What the hell?” Catherine exclaimed, before seeing a round, red hole on the King’s chest.

The King looked down, seeing how the red color began to spread on his attire. “I feel, strange.” He started to hyperventilate. “I’m, hah, hah, hah, scared.” His hand began to slip away from Catherine’s. She tried her best to prevent him from doing so. That did not change the fact that the room is falling apart and pulling him away from her. Soon, everything turned black.

Catherine was back in the real world. In front of her, the King took his final breath and collapsed. Catherine did not know what to do, besides trying to help him up. However, she forgot that the pain the King had inflicted was still in effect, and she had lost so much blood during her time in the King’s mind. She tried calling the voice, but it did not answer.

From afar, near the gate, Axel became visible again and ejected a smoking shell, instances before the floating platform supporting Catherine and the King’s body plummeted into the hole. Axel looked away from the scope, seeing how the internal of this beast was shaking. Large chunks of tar, metal and glass began rained down, increased in intensity after every shake of the beast. He looked down and noticed Noira was moving again. He quickly climbed down and approached her.

From outside, the Leviathan stopped moving. Its metallic scale began to fall off, while it concrete, sewage, dirt, metal and glass body decayed and dropped to the ground. The Foundation planes gathered around the beast’s head and started priming their weapons.

Axel took out a healing syringe and jabbed it into Noira’s chest. The pain and drug immediately woke her up. She sprang up and frantically look around. “What is going on? What happened? Where is Catherine?”

Hesitated for a second, Axel answered. “No time to explain, but she didn’t make it. We need to get out, the place is falling apart.”

Noira’s comm then rang. She picked it up and listened to Rick’s voice. “Noira, you are still alive? Nice. The way is clear, turn back now. Tell Catherine too, she didn’t pick up my call.” Noira did not speak of anything, she just cut off the line. Axel helped Noira get back on her feet. The dark type instantly climbed on the wall and headed back to Rick’s location, one of her hands clutched her abdomen. Axel was doing the same, following her steps.

Boomer's voice blasted through the beast after the mega fire pig had finished drilling a big enough hole on the wall. “Everything has gone to ass, get the hell out now!”

Doc voice replaced Boomer’s. “Great observation. What else? The sky is blue?” He poked his head through the hole Rick had just dug. “Come comrade.” Doc then backed away, allowing Rick to enlarge the hole. Rick with some difficulties, managed to squeeze through said hole.

After Rick had got through the wall, Noira reached his location. Seeing the absence of Catherine, he asked her. “Noira, where is Catherine?”

“No time, we must go.”

Rick then tried to fit through the hole again. “No way, I’m going back.”

Doc grabbed him by the shoulder. “Rick!” He then shook his head. “Basic math dictates that 2 losses are better than 3.”

“Screw your math, I’m still going back.”

“Rick, be sensible now,” Doc said, while his bionic eyes pierced into Rick’s panic gaze. “You can punch an ancient Pokémon in the face, but you can’t do everything.” Rick closed his eyes and backed out from the hole.

Leon and Bryan along with the rest of the agents rushed to the entrance, or at least until they reach a dead end. Leon said. “Eh, okay, have anyone actually thought about an exit?”

“Shit!” One agent shouted from the back of the group. Before they could gather their thoughts, the dead end blasted open, knocked most of them back. Once the agents’ eyes opened, they could see blinding sunlight from the outside again. 

Rave voice blasted through the comm. “Guys, I have just blown the thing head off.”

Another pilot came in the line. “Hey, asswipe, we’ve blown the thing head off.”

Boomer screamed at the top of his lungs. “You assholes! That almost killed us.”

The previous pilot said. “Ah, well, just blame it on Rave. He was the jackass that came up with the idea.”

Rave responded. “Screw you!”

Doc jumped out, not before saying. “Argue later, help us out immediately.”

From the hole in the King’s chamber

“You motherfuckers! I’m not dead. Hello, is anyone there?” Catherine screamed from the bottom of the hole. Seeing how after a few drawn out minutes and no one had come, she decided to stand up and rescue herself. First, she must find an anchor. Catherine crawled forward with her right arm. Surrounding her was nothing but darkness and the sound of crumbling walls. Her hand got a grip on something thing and slimy. She used it as a lever and slowly got back her on feet while mumbling something. As she stood up, Catherine could felt every fracture in her bone. Nevertheless, those pains are nothing compare to the dangling left arm and disjointed shoulder. She commanded the voice to heal it up. However, fell apart joints could not be fixed with just regeneration. At most, the aura hand crawled out and acted as binding for her left arm. She slowly advanced forward, hoping that was actually forward.

After a few dozen steps, her head bumped into something. She reached her hand out and felt it. “No!” said her as she found out what beyond the darkness was a metal wall. She punched the wall and received a loud clanking sound. Her hand retracted. She then found out that her hand had made a dent on the wall. Realized that the wall might not be as thick as she had thought, Catherine summed her laser cutter. “I’m not going down without a fight.” She grabbed the cutter and aimed it forward. “Arghhhh!” She cried out as her right hand alone struggled to get the thing to operate. The cutter dropped to the ground. Before she could pick it up again, something swiped the cutter away.

“Here, let me give you a hand with that, lady.”

Recognized the voice, Catherine turned back and seeing a smirking Snivy behind her. “What, the fuck, took you so long?” She said with a glare.

“Deciding whether to ignoring your, heartbreaking plea. You definitely grip my heart at the “Motherfucker” part”

She sighed. “Now is not the time. Please, get me the fuck out of here.”

With a grin, he prepped up the cutter and said. “Sure, just rest, okay? I’ll take care of everything.”

Catherine nodded. “Thanks.”

“Now, just loosen your muscle a bit. It will stop the bleeding.”

Catherine nodded and started breathing slowly. When the pulse slowed down to a normal rate, Axel’s vines extended and made their way toward her. “Argh, what the fuu” He wrapped his vine around her, securing her hands and feet to her body; turned her to a cocoon of vines. “Eh, this arrangement is slightly.”

“Creepy, I know. Just don’t tell Celeste and we are good.” Axel covered the cocoon with an extra layer of vines, leaving a big enough hole for Catherine to breathe and see. Once that done, he moved to cocoon to his back and started shooting beams toward the thin wall with the cutter. The plasma melted away and punctured several holes on the thin sheet of metal. Axel punched the sheet open once enough holes were made. Afterward, he bolted. He soon found an opening that led to the part decorated with the remains of the mess hall. He accelerated, telling Catherine that they were close. Their surrounding was collapsing with ever-increasing speed. From time to time, Axel had to dodge a quick lump of structure that fell down. Finally, when the slime walls were closing on Axel, he found the blasted-open exit. He used his last bit of stamina and sprinted toward the light. He jumped, when the structure collapsed entirely and found himself stories above ground. That was no trouble for him because he had the kinetic orange orb that slowed him and cocooned his descent.  

After his feet felt the hot dirt, Axel laughed. “Hehe, oh my god! We made it! We were almost in that.” He said while turning his head over his shoulder. “Catherine? Eh, Catherine? Hello?” Axel shook the cocoon a bit, no answer. He quickly unwrapped her and found Catherine’s eyes had shut tight. The gaping wound on her shoulder had stopped bleeding and the blood had hardened. He touched her neck and sensed nothing. “Quick, call the medic!” he shouted. Lazarus ran toward him while summoned his equipment. He calmly kneeled down and checked Catherine’s status.

 

A few days later

Axel was walking in the medical wing of a Genesis base. Beside him was a group of three Pokémon, one being Markov and two Chansey nurses. The group was pushing a hospital bed. The lumps on the covering sheet indicated a body of an unfortunate soul. The air around them was heavily sterilized and filled with heat coming from the staff running back and forth.

Markov shook his head. “What a shame. She had put up a great fight the past few days. Yet, her valiant effort was in vain. Another agent lost, terrible shame. Well, at least she had no family. Not that we know of.”

Axel kept his head down, a solemn look on his face. “No one wanted this, but pretty much everyone expects this, yes?”

“Of course, a price to pay for the future, I guess. Well, see you around. Axel.”

Axel bowed. “Sure will, Doctor Markov.”

Both then parted way. Markov and the Chansey headed for the morgue while Axel made a sharp turn. He traversed the hallways occupied by nurses and doctors running back and forth. He stopped at room 403. He knocked on the door. The cheery voice of Celeste came out. “Come in.”

Axel turned the knob. In the room was Celeste sitting on the floor, combing Catherine’s hair and weaving some metal rolls and coils onto Catherine’s hair. Catherine sat still, eyes gazing at the fabricated sunlight and sky made by the window screen. She only had hospital pants on while her upper body was covered in clean bandages. Bits on her shoulder were letting out a metallic shine.

Axel walked toward an end table and fabricated a flower vase. He said “How you ladies been doing?” before putting the vase down.

Celeste said. “Pretty good, right, Catherine?”

Catherine turned to Axel, said. “That depends on how my hair looks from your end, Axel. Is it okay?”

Axel crossed his arms and puckered his lips. “That’s a tough one, considering the fact that you look like you have spring rolls stuck in your hair.”

Catherine turned back, glaring. “Doubt is seeping in, Celeste.”

“It will look gorgeous when it was done. I promise.”

“Hah, why do I care? Even if I go bald, no one would notice anyway.”

“I would and don’t say that.” Celeste then turned to Axel. “Axel, did you bring the drink?”

The Snivy slapped the back of his head. “Oh, dang, I forgot. Can you go and do that for me, please.” He said with a smile.

“Fine.” The Eeveelution stopped what she was doing and walked to the door. “See you later.”

“See you.” Axel and Catherine said.

Once Celeste had left, Axel said. “So, how are you doing lately Catherine?”

“Pretty good. The metal felt weird when I try to move. Swear to god, I hear it clank when I move my arm.” She shook her shoulder, winced at the pain.

“Uh huh, it’s normal. Don’t worry, though, after a while, it will stop. I got two implants, so you can be sure of that.”  

The silence then set back in for a moment. “Un huh. So does that mean I can wield bigger guns?”

“No. You are only protected from mild recoil. Don’t be too excited, just mild recoil, not even bone crushing recoil so, yeah I afraid no rail gun for you.”

“Fuck. I thought it was something like Doc when they said cybernetic.”

“It would if you pay extra. Oh, that reminds me.”

Catherine spat. “Stingy asshole, I’m in a hospital for god’s sake.”

“Yeah, just kidding. And forget about it; it’s not what I’m here for anyway.” He fabricated a small blue velvet covered box. “I have something for you.” He handled to box over to her. The Snivy gestured her to open it and she did.

Inside was a simple silver locket. “Oh, it’s a…locket.” She opened it up and read what was written inside. “Alexander and Daniel, um, the fuck?” She turned to Axel, her look contained a mixture of confusion and fright.

“Well, one of those names could me mine or somebody else. I don’t know what they come from, but I know for sure that this locket is a piece of my past.”

Catherine closed the box. “Wow, I am flattered, but, eh, this is super creepy. You have a girlfriend outside, buying a drink and I’m already taken. So, you can have it back.” She pushed to box to him.

“No, just take it, because your life might depend on it.”

Catherine had some trouble keeping her jaws shut. “Okay, it went from creepy to absolute fuckery and fuck-off-from-this-room disturbing.”

Axel snickered. “This is not for that purpose. This is my apology.”

“Apology, Apology for what?”

“You know, during the escape on the Bandits’ Monster. I did not think about saving your life. I was about to just leave you there, in that hole and downright leave.”

Catherine squinted her eyes. “Ouch, harsh.”

“But, I still did, didn’t I? Yet, I still feel pretty guilty about it, so I just have to make sure that I would never second guessing about saving you.”

“Seriously, so you apologize, with this? Bribing? Heh, you are so god damn high.”

“Don’t flatter yourself Catherine. I don’t even know you for that long.”

She squinted her eyes. “I feel insulted, but fuck it! If I were in the same situation, it would ditch you as well. I own you nothing after all. Well, not anymore, cause I obviously own you on this one.”  She took the locket from the box. “But yeah, I’ll take it.” She tried to put it on but immediately put it back to the box. “Wait, don’t you want to give this to your girlfriend.”

“She doesn't need it. She is my future, so I will always save her. You on the other hand”

“Fuck, putting more salt on my pride will ya?” She deconstructed the box. “This thing it’s super tacky, so, might not wear it. But, you better not forget, though.”

“Oh, I won’t. Just don’t ram your head into trouble too often.”

“Pf, no promises there.”

Shortly after, Celeste went in with two bottles of something on her feelers. Catherine, for the rest of the day, smiled while hiding away a conversation within her mind.

 _“Should I tell them_?” She said

The malevolent voice answered in the same manner as always, calculated, cold and straight forward _. “Considerate all these factors and answer it for yourself. No one would believe you. Only you and the King were in that conversation. Markov is still one of the elites in this company and he had not done anything that affects you directly. The bandit Kingdom and its members are now no more. Is there any point to continue that rushed plan of his? The answer is, don’t think about it. Enjoy your life with these strangers and move on. Just as how we agreed upon the day we set foot in this place. Our own interests are the only factors in this world.”_

_“It’s easy to say that, without sight. Many lives were lost for unclear reasons; it’s too hard for me to ignore. But you are right on one thing. Others won’t do much help for me. I will have to root out the truth by myself then decide, for myself.”_

_“I told you, this world is senseless, all the killings are senseless. It is better to be part of the killing rather than thinking about it, and then be killed. But fine, do as you please. Can’t say that I didn’t warn you. However, I would be crossed if I somehow ended up in a jar made by Genesis. And the only way for that to happen, is you, paying the price”_

 

A few hours later, in the wreckage of what was once the Leviathan

Genesis had established a giant holographic field that covered up a large area that included the creature massive body; tents for Genesis’s scientists, grunt and clean-up crew; Killians planes; and other vehicles. All Genesis’s personnel had their work cut out for them. The grunts were looking for signs of living bandits, who somehow miraculously survived the transformation of the Leviathan and the collapse, but alas, all they could find were bodies showing signs of decay. The clean-up crews worked alongside with the scientists and engineers. They performed the task of heavy lifting, stripping away the excess metal and gunk, allowed the scientists to perform their task: searching for useful data. While the others were doing their jobs, Markov was gently searching the scrap metals for something else. He had instructed all the personnel to leave him alone.

He worked his way toward the arena where Catherine, Noira, and the King had fought. The clean-up crew had already taken way the ceiling, giving Markov an easy time to find the battered body of the King. Normally, one would be torn apart from seeing a splitting image of oneself as an empty, hollow and rotten shell. That did not ring true for Markov. A grin slowly pushed up the wrinkles his cheeks, folding them together.

“Oh, how disappointing. Possessed all that power, and he used it for this, bombastic beast.”

A calm voice entered the scene. “Indeed. He didn’t have any of your ambitions; just pure unsophisticated vengeance. Very much like his lackeys.”

Markov jumped a little and turned his head back. He saw an Eevee walking on two legs looking through his shoulders. The normal type was wearing a black business suit and a tie with the Infinity logo. “Oh, didn’t know you were here.”

“Hehehe, that is just how I carry out my business.” The Eevee then took a gander at the King’s body. “Hah, look at that, after all, that effort, we finally got him, the thorn in our sides.”

“Indeed. You have no idea how pleased I am to see this.’

“Well, you might be surprised, but, that satisfied grin on your face has told me everything.”

Markov chuckled a bit more before facing the Eevee. “So, what is our next step? My clone might have, sped up the Plate, gathering process. But the number of pawns, he had costed us too much.”

The Eevee pondered. “Hmmm, indeed. But, look on the bright side. Because of his monopoly on bandits, plus the incompetence with his indoctrination technology, the bandits in the Outlands are weaker than ever. Without him, they lose the master control and cannot do anything besides being converted.”

“Interesting thought. Do you know the location, of their leftover bases?”

The Eevee shrugged. “Sadly, I don’t. I told you, I’m no god, just a guy who is good at observations. As for your question, there should be some intact database in this wreckage. From what we gather from Sanctuary, these data would prove more useful than just making bandit round-up easier.”

“Oh yes, the Megastore recreation, and the Infinity tech. Yes, those would be utmost welcome.”

“Look like we have what we need to fix this world. Well, except some time to recover and strengthen ourselves.”

“That is a must, no doubt about it.” Markov paused. “Is there anything else you wish to tell me?”

The Eevee smiled. “Afraid not, just checking in and unwind some of your concerns, like I always do.”

“Good, then I must ask you to leave. Be careful on your way out. Don’t want to draw any suspicion.” Markov looked back at the body. His face shifted from satisfied to concern. He was thinking of what his next steps going to be, what assets he still had. Noticed how things were awfully quiet, he looked behind him and found out the Eevee had disappeared. “Huh, I would never get used to that. But you, on the other hand” he looked back at the body “I could easily get used to living without you pestering me and my goals.”

From afar, the Eevee looked back at the wreckage through an old binocular. The device somehow pierced through the illusion, giving him the full vision of everything. He looked at Markov, as he took something from the King. “Another scapegoat bit the dust.” The Eevee muttered while his shadow on the sand began to morph into a different Pokémon.

End of part 1

* * *

 

Author's notes:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me the motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to update these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is my first ever story so please forgive any possible mistake in the future and help me fix them.

Wow, I have gone pretty far with this story. I don’t know what to say but, thank you for joining me along the way and have a pleasant day.

 

 

 


End file.
